
^T, Account of the Great Mineral Region 

South of the Gila RiVer and East 

from the Gulf of California 

to the Sierra Madre 



w 



Written by ALLEN t. BIRD 
Editor The Oasis, Nbgales, Arizona 



Published under the Auspices of the 

Arizona and Sonora Ghambi:r or Mines 



^' 



19 04 

THE OASIS PRINTING HOUSE, INCORPORATEQ 
NOGALPS, ARIZONA 



'Pl^ .1 /, 



Arizona and Sonora Chamber of Mines, 

Nogalcs, Arizona. 

Officers. 

J» McCALLUM, • * President. 
A. SANDOVAL, First Vice-President. 
F. F. CRANZ, Second Vice-President. 
BRACEY CURTIS, - Treasurer. 
N. K. STALEY, - - Secretary. 



Executive Committee. 

THEO. GEBLER. A. L. PELLEGRIN. 

A. L, LEWIS. F. PELTIER. 

CON OTCEEFE. COLBY N. THOMAS. 

F. F. CRANZ. 



iPVui. 







'N the Historia del Nayarit, being a description of ' 'The Apostolic I^abors 
of the vSociety of Jesus in North America," embracing particularly 
that portion surrounding the Gulf of California, from the Gila River 

on the north, and comprising all the region westward from the main 

summits of the Sierra Madre, which history was first published in Barcelona 
in 1754, and was written some years earlier by a member of the order, Father 
Jose Ortega, being a compilation of writings of other friars — Padre Kino, Padre 
Fernanda Coasag, and others — there appear many interesting accounts of rich 
mineral regions in the provinces described, the mines of which were then in 
operation, and had been during more than a century preceding, constantly pour- 
ing a great volume of metallic wealth into that flood of precious metals which 
Mexico sent across the Atlantic to enrich the royal treasury of imperial Spain 
and filled to bursting the capacious coffers of the Papacy. The Spanish archives 
of the three provinces included in the Tierra del Nayarit — Sonora, Sinaloa and 
Lower California (including that part of Arizona south from the Gila River) — 
all go to show that from the early Spanish occupation of the region, in 1630 or 
thereabouts, the region was richly productive in gold and silver, and historians 
later than Padre Kino — Humboldt, Velasco, Ward, and others — all present 
elaborate accounts of the mineral resources of the great region, the teeming 
virgin wealth that there lay in the bosom of Mother Earth, and the energy and 
activity displayed in all quarters in its exploitation. Humboldt, viewing the 
region with the eye of the scientist, pronounced it the 

^^Treasure House of the World/* 

Receiving one-fifth of all the gold and silver produced, the royal Spanish 
Crown extended throughout the entire region the most complete and perfect pro- 
tection. Presidios (military posts) with strong garrisons were scattered through 
the land, and all the highways and avenues of traffic were constantly patrolled 
in force. Everywhere were peace and prosperity — prosperity for the proud priest 
and haughty hidalgo, but toil and poverty for the masses. The conquerors had 
enslaved the native population, and by their ill-requited labor, wrung from them 
with cruelty and contumely, or tricked from them with the consolations of an 
alien religion to a belief in which their fathers had been converted by a liberal 
application of sword and fagot, employing crude and primitive processes that 
with free labor could not be profitably employed save in reduction of the very 
richest ores (which was even then true to a great extent), during two centuries 
they poured forth an 

Undiminished Stream of Riches. 

Throughout the entire region extensive abandoned mine workings, the ruins 
of large towns, many now silent and deserted, and ruins of chtirches and mis- 
sions, scattered along all the routes of travel, attest that the country supported a 
large population and that the industry of mining was extensive and actively 
prosecuted. Every few leagues along the river valleys are to be seen old churches, 
some of them yet standing and in use, presenting various stages of dilapida- 
tion and decay, while of others naught remains but a few crumbling walls. Yet 
all these were once surrounded by seats of population numbering thousands, 
supported by surrounding mines and the allied industries of primitive times. 

In 1810, when the Mexican patriots rose for independence, a portion of the 
military protection of this distant region was withdrawn to aid in suppression 
of the uprising upon the eastern side of the Sierra Madre, in the more central 
provinces of New Spain ; and when independence of Mexico was secured in 



iS2i, and Itnrbide established liis short-livecl empire, military occupation and 
protection b>- the arms of Spain were terminated. Then the stirring scenes of 
Iturbide"s dethronement and exile, his return to seek restoration, and his tragic 
execution, with the frequent changes in the central government that characterized 
that troublesome time, left neglected the work of protection of the isolated land 
of Nayarit. The strong military posts which had been through nearly two cen- 
turies a ialient feature of the land were abandoned, while the roads were no longer 
patrolled by armed forces looking out to punish marauders and enforce the law. 
Insecurity succeeded security, and mining men feared to follow their isolated 
calling, scattered as they were in little camps. Then came the 

Great Apache Uprising 

Of 1825, with which the frequently changing central government, too closely 
occupied by revolutions and counter revolutions closer home, was unable to cope, 
and local authority was powerless. For a half century the entire region was har- 
ried with desolation and murder, and nowhere was life safe and property secure. 
Thousands were murdered, prosperous towns sacked and destroyed , mines at- 
tacked and all their workers massacred, and hundreds — yea, thousands — of 
valuable productive mining properties were abandoned. In 1853 all that part of 
the region between the Gila and the present International Boundary, by the 
Gadsden treaty, became territory of the United States, and some effort to termin- 
ate Apache incursions therein was made from Washington. But soon the Ameri- 
can civil war broke out, and our federal government, like that of Mexico, had 
troubles of its own closer home. In the early seventies attention of the Ameri- 
can military authorities was again turned to a solution of the Apache problem. 
With the rise to power of General Diaz in Mexico, and secure entrenchment of 
the Liberal party in the government of that republic, attention there was alsO' 
turned to the Apaches. Working together, the military forces of the two nations 
captured the last predatory band (that of Geronimo) in 1884. They were de- 
ported, and 

Peace Returned^ 

For the first time in sixty years. During all the years of devastation brave souls 
had dared the appalling dangers, and here and there mines had been worked ; but 
as a great industry mining was paralyzed, and a region which had been once 
populous and prosperous had changed to a wilderness, with scattered settlements- 
at wide intervals. 

With the return of peace twenty years ago the region took new life, mining 
was resumed in all parts, old mines were reopened, new mines developed, and 
activity in all avenues of material advancement has resulted. Already the region 
has advanced to the front rank in the production of copper, including the great 
mines at Cananea, Eisbee and Nacozari, the combined output of which three great 
camps in 1903 reached a total of 118,057,000 pounds of refined copper. The 
gold and silver production has also reached large proportions, and annually in- 
creases. Among the camps producing the precious metals is that of Minas 
Prietas, about 200 miles south of the International Boundary at Nogales, the 
annual output of which exceeds $3,000,000 in gold and silver bars. 

One of the principal seats of commercial and industrial activity in this great 
region is 

Nogales, the Line City, 

Which includes two municipalities, separated by the width of a broad street, one 
in the United States, the other in Mexico. It is the gateway to the west coast 
of Mexico, the Sonora Railway, leased and operated by the Southern Pacific 



Company, connecting the town with the port of Guaymas, upon the Gulf of 
California, 265 miles distant southward. From Guaymas steamer lines ply up 
and down the coast and across the Gulf to points in Lower California. 

Connection is made with the main line of the Southern Pacific at Benson, a 




distance of eighty-eight miles, the New Mexico & Arizona branch line of the 
Southern Pacific being the connecting link. At Fairbank, on the same line, sev- 
enty miles from Nogales, connection is made with the El Paso & Southwestern 
Railway, which connects with the Santa Fe system at Deming, N. M., and with 
the Rock Island and Texas Pacific routes at El Paso. 



Nogales is the outfitting point for prospectors and travelers entering Sonora, 
the large and varied stocks carried by the various mercantile houses supplying 
everything that may be needed. 

The city is made their home by many mining men operating in Sonora and 
Sinaloa, offering unusual advantages, being picturesquely located, with a delight- 
ful climate, good water, electric lights, excellent schools, and all the comforts of 
civilization. It is the center of a fine stock growing region; and in the valley 
of the Santa Cruz, close at hand, is a large body of fine agricultural land, a 
great deal of it under cultivation, supplying the town with vegetables, fruits, hay, 
etc. ; and there are many thousands of acres yet to be reclaimed by operation of 
the new federal irrigation law, which will make Santa Cruz County a rich agri- 
cultural region, the produce of the fertile lands having awaiting it a rapidly de- 
veloping market in valuable mining districts immediately surrounding, that are 
rapidly assuming importance as permanent and profitable producers of useful 
and valuable metals. The city is well built, of brick and stone, and has some 
very handsome edifices, including the court house, the public school, the Monte- 
zuma Hotel, the Brickwood, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, and many elegant 
private residences and comfortable dwellings. 

Nogales enjoys an extensive trade with the state of Sonora in Mexico, and in 
southern Arizona. Its commerce reaches out also into Sinaloa, the adjoining state 
south of Sonora, and across into Lower California. It is the seat of the Arizona 
& Sonora Manufacturing Company, which conducts an extensive foundry and 
machine shop, and has turned out some of the best and most complete mills and 
reduction plants in Sonora, Sinaloa and Arizona, including the 20-stamp mill 
for the Yerkes Gold Mining Company, in the Altar district of the former state, 
and the mill for the Lluvia del Oro Alining Co., near Choix, in Sinaloa. This 
company is now engaged in filling contracts for a 200-ton reverberatory furnace 
for the Cieneguita Copper Company, at their extensive mines in the Sahuaripa 
district of Sonora, and a lOO-ton quartz mill for the Lucky Tiger Combination 
Gold Mining Co., in the Moctezuma district of the same state, about sixty miles 
southeast from the International Boundary at Douglas. Roy & Titcomb, Incor- 
porated, sales agents for the Arizona & Sonora Manufacturing Co., have an 
extensive mine supply house at Nogales, with branches at Douglas, Hermosillo 
and Guaymas. The house is a very important factor in development of the 
great region tributary. 

Banking Facilities 

At the line city are adequate, and the houses are sterling and reliable. The 
Banco de Sonora has a strong branch at Nogales, Sonora. In Nogales, Arizona, 
the First National Bank is a safe, conservative institution, and the only Ameri- 
can bank in the line city. In Nogales, Sonora, the house of P. Sandoval & Co. 
is one of the strongest and most widely known in the Southwest, Besides a 
banking and brokerage business, the house of Sandoval has extensive property 
interests in Sonora, including historic Planchas de Plata (Plates of Silver) mines, 
about twenty miles southwest from Nogales. The Montezuma, Brickwood and 
Arizona are the leading hotels in the line city. The Oasis, the Border Vidette, 
the Daily Nezvs and the Daily Times are the newspapers of Nogales. To enum- 
erate all the important business houses would absorb too much space, and the 
reader is referred to the advertising pages herein. The 

Arizona and Sonora Chamber of Mines 

Is an organization of business and mining men interested in the development 
of the region, which association is devoted to the collation and dissemination 
of important and valuable information in regard to the mining industry in the 

4 



This is the only First=Class Hotel in Nogales, and is the Travelers' 
===== Headquarters. =^=^=^= 



Montezuma Hotel, 

Nogales, Ariz. 

LOUIS J. F. lAEGER, Proprietor. 

Montezuma Pharmacy, 

Montezuma Hotel Building, Nogales, Arizona. 

A Full and Complete Assortment of the Best ^.p -p ^ ^MTTMWAV P ^ 

Drugs, Chemicals, Patent Medicines, ♦ ♦ . » P • 

Toilet Articles, etc., Constantly on Hand. Telephone No. 183. 

PRESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY PREPARED. 



THE PALACE, 

Nogales J Jlriz. 

M. M. CONN. Prop'r. 



I. BLRQOON, 



naberda^her and Clothier 

Outfitter for All Mankind. 

High Art Custom TailoriDg. 
fine footwear. 



region described. It has a well furnished reading-room and offices, where all 
visitors are welcome, extensive cabinets of minerals, etc. The list of officers 
of the Chamber of Mines will be found upon the second page of the cover. 

In the immediate vicinity of Nogales there has been a recent development 
of oil bearing formation — that is, men of long experience in oil regions have 
carefullv examined the formation and pronounced it oil bearing. The Sonoita 
Oil Company, a local corporation, has been organized, and has taken up about 
7,000 acres of land closely adjacent to Nogales, and will introduce improved 
machinery to thoroughly test the field. 

In the region immediately surrounding Nogales were the seats of some of 
the antigua Spanish mining operations, many of which were conducted by the 
Jesuit and Franciscan friars who conducted the missions established for Chris- 
tianization of the natives. Northward from Nogales about fifteen miles, in 
the valley of the Santa Cruz River, are the ruins of the Tumacacori mission 
church, which is noted in the annals of the early Spanish missions as having 
been under charge of missionary monks who devoted a great deal of attention 
to mining, and their properties are now known in tradition as the "Lost Tuma- 
cacori Mines." The church archives, long years ago transported to Spain, are 
said to have recorded that the mines worked by the Tumacacori friars were 
about ten miles to the east from the mission, in the Santa Rita Mountains, in 
the vicinity of a sharp peak visible from inside the church through the east 
•entrance. Standing within the ruined building and casting the eye through 
the aperture, a sharp peak is discernible against the eastern horizon, and it 
is in about the center of the 

Tyndall District, 

A region highly mineralized, which is today the seat of considerable activity, 
and where there are the shafts and tunnels in a score of hills, where the antiguos, 
as the early Spaniards are called, dug and delved. Among the principal min- 
ing properties in this region are the Joplin group, Goldtree group. Presidential 
group, Wandering Jew group, Santa Rita Mining Company's holdings, Warsaw, 
Trenton, Bland, Victor, Royal Blue, Temporal, Happy Jack, and scores beside 
which might be named. 

The Joplin is npw in active working, and is shipping to the smelter at El 
Paso high grade ores carrying copper, lead, gold and silver. It is under bond 
to Massachusetts people, who are actively prosecuting development and ship- 
ping ores. 

The Wandering Jew is a mine which bears every evidence of having been 
one of the properties worked by the Jesuits nearly 200 years ago, and 
was discovered by Mark Lulley. In recent development old workings 
with rich ores were uncovered, which had been carefully concealed at 
the time of their abandonment, probably when the friars were driven 
away at the time of the Apache uprising. In the present workings upon 
"the Jew" there are blocked out, ready for stoping, several thousand tons of 
high grade shipping ore, heavy in lead and rich in silver. This property is also 
under bond to eastern mining capitalists who have projected extensive op- 
erations. 

The Goldtree properties, now known as El Plomo group, were extensively 
worked some twenty years ago and their ores shipped. These ores are high 
grade sulphides of lead, rich in silver. The old workings, extending about two 
miles across the siunmit of a high mountain, consisting of many shafts and tun- 
nels and the dumps at their entrances, show that operations were on an extended 
scale. The present owners, Albert Steinfeld & Co., of Tucson, have projected a 



tunnel which will cut through the base of the mountain at a depth of i,ooo feet 
below the apex, and open extensively the entire group. 

In the Tyndall district is a small concentrating mill, recently erected, to re- 
duce custom ores. Upon the east side of the Santa Rita Mountains is the Great- 
erville placer gold mining camp, whose auriferous deposits have been worked 
many years and have yielded handsomely. Upon the north side of these moun- 
tains are many evidences of former workings, but no active operation at pres- 
ent. By competent experts the region is pronounced rich in mineral. Water is 
abundant, and extensive forest growths assure fuel and timber for many years. 

Southeasterly from the Santa Ritas lie the 

Patagonia Mountains, 

In which there is another rich and extensive mineral field, including Harshaw 
and Washington districts upon the east side of the range, and the Old Tucson 
district upon the west side. In the Harshaw district is the noted Mowry mine, 
a property with a romantic history, which was owned and operated by Lieutenant 




PUBI^IC SCHOOl^, NOGAI^ES, ARIZONA. 

Sylvester Mowry, U. S. A., in i860 and the early years of the civil war. The 
ruins of Lieutenant Mowry's reduction plant are yet standing in the vicinity 
-—a few low, crumbling adobe walls. The ores, which are rich in lead and 
silver, were smelted and the lead and silver bullion transported by wagon to 
Guaymas, thence by water to Europe. Some of the silver was run into small 
plaques and ingots, and in the absence of money in a then remote region, they 
circulated from hand to hand as do coins elsewhere. They were of several 
sizes, each scrupulously of uniform weight and value. It was reported that 
some of the lead was shipped to the Confederate War Department, and cast 
into bullets for use in the military operations on behalf of the Lost Cause; and 
Lieutenant Mowry was put imder arrest upon a charge of treasonable conduct 
and his property confiscated. A court of inquiry finally exonerated him, and he 



left the service, going to Europe. After the war he returned to New York and 
published a book descriptive of the region, in which he asserted that his arrest 
and the confiscation of his property were the result of a conspiracy instigated 
by the general commanding the military district, to rob him of his property. 
The book asserts that it was leased to a civilian creature of the commanding 
general for a nominal rental, that the mine was gutted, and then abandoned. 
Twenty years later the mine was taken up by a company of Californians and 
worked several years, the ores being shipped. It is now the property of the 
American Industrial & Development Company, which has constantly employed 
a force of more than lOO men. The mine has been pumped free from water, 
and virgin ground below the old workings of Mo wry- and the latter company has 
been penetrated by a new shaft, drifts and levels from which have encountered 
large bodies of rich lead and silver sulphides and sulphurets. The main work- 
ing shaft is now at a depth of about 600 feet. 

Another famous property in the Harshaw district is the 

Hermosa Mine^ 

Upon which the town of Harshaw, a thriving and lively camp, was built in the 
early eighties. It was then owned and operated by a San Francisco company, 
which built a twenty-stamp mill, and within a few years realized a net profit 
of $1,250,000. The mine was then in horrasca, as the Spanish designate the 
lean parts of mineral ledges, and operations were abandoned. The mill and 
property passed into the hands of the late Mr. James Finley, of Tucson, who 
had been superintendent for the California company. A cave in the old work- 
ings revealed another rich body of high grade silver sulphurets, extraction and 
reduction of which made Mr. Finley a very wealthy man. With the great 
slump in silver in 1893, Mr. Finley abandoned operations, and the property was 
idle ten years, the mill being sold and removed. In 1903 the Finley estate sold 
it to an Oklahoma company, which is now operating it: A tunnel 600 feet in 
length has been cut in below the old workings, and opened a large body of high 
grade sulphurets, which are reduced in a new mill completed in August of the 
present year (1904). The plant includes rolls and a Huntington mill, and 
has a daily capacity of about twenty-five tons of ore. 

Not far from the Hermosa is the Hardshell mine, owned by Mr. R. R. Rich- 
ardson, of Patagonia. This mine is developed to a depth of 600 feet, and has 
yielded large quantities of rich ores, which were concentrated and the concentrates 
shipped. The ores are lead-silver. The ledge, a true fissure, in porphyry, is 
wide and strong, and undoubtedly carries values to great depths. The group, 
all under the same ownership, would be a fine proposition for a large company. 

Not far from Harshaw is the celebrated 

World's Fair Mine, 

A property located in 1893 by Mr. Frank Powers, of Harshaw. During its ten 
years of operation the World's Fair has proved a veritable bank. Whenever the 
fortunate owner has needed money he has extracted and shipped a carload of 
ore that nets from .$10,000 to $14,000 for each shipment. With ten years' work- 
ing the mine has been developed by an extended system of tunnels, drifts and 
winzes, and in the various workings there are blocked out, ready for stoping, 
many thousands of tons of second grade rock. The deepest working, a winze 
about 150 feet down from the lower tunnel level, is more than 600 feet below the 
croppings at the apex of the ledge. In the upper workings the ores were rich 
lead-silver sulphides, but below the water level the character "of the pay rock has 
changed, and a great deal of tetrahedrite (grey copper), rich in gold and silver, 
is found. 



^be jfiret IRational Bank 

— = of IRogales. — = 

/IDexican /IDoney Bougbt anD Sol&. Special IRates on Xarge 

Bmounts. /IDail pour deposits an5 Unstructions 

ant) Same will IReceive prompt Httention. 

TRANSACTS A GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS^ 

Drafts Ussue^ on Hll parts of tbe milorl&. 
^aies paiO on /IBines in /IDexico. 

Thos. J. Barclay, Frank A. Seabert, Henry Vander IvECk, 

President. Vice-Pres. Sec'y and Treas. 

Southwestern Comfflercial Co. 

Nogales, Arizona. 



WHOESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IN 



GENERAL MERCHANDISE. 



SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO EXPORT ORDERS, 



STORES AND WAREHOUSES: 

Los Angeles, Cal. Cananea, Sonora, Mex. Tombstone, Ariz. 

EI Paso, Tex. Naco, Ariz. Bisbee, Ariz. 



In the Harshaw district there are many valuable claims which with develop- 
ment would rank with the World's Fair, Hermosa and Movvry. Among these 
are the Flux, R.R.R., Lead Queen, Bluenose, Redmen, Andes, Trench, and many 
more. Near the Mowry the Endless Chain Mining Company, an Oklahoma 
corporation, is developing a group of fine properties, and is extracting high 




grdde rock that pays to ship. Over upon the south side of the district the Four 
Metals Mining Company, of Phoenix, Arizona, is developing three groups, one 
of sixteen full claims and twO others of five each. They lie west and south 
of the Mowry, a couple of miles distant. 



10 



South from the Mowry about four miles is the 

Washington District, 

With the great copper mines at Washington Camp and Duquesne. At the former 
place the Pride of the West Mining Company owns a group of claims, about 
350 acres, and a 100-ton reduction plant — the latter a combination of electric 
and water concentration and smelting. The ores are rebellious copper sulphides, 
very difficult to treat. The company had first a 40-ton plant, which was in suc- 
cessful operation a long time. That was dismantled, and in its stead the present 
plant erected. 

In the vicinity is the Pool group, several claims with large and well defined 
bodies of sulphide copper ores, principally chalcopyrite, such as are found in all 
the mines in the camp. 

In the vicinity of Duquesne, which is about a mile away from Washington 
Camp, are the properties of the Duquesne Mining Co., (George Westinghouse 
& Co., of Pittsburg, Pa.), embracing about forty full claims (800 acres), upon 
which there is a 635 foot shaft and extensive underground development, expos- 
ing large bodies of chalcopyrite and chalcocite ores. It is understood that eventu- 
ally the company will erect a great reduction plant on the Santa Cruz River, con- 
necting it with the mines by a railway to Nogales, to reduce the ores to supply 
copper to the colossal electrical machinery factory operated by the Westinghouse 
Company at Pittsburg. 

In the vicinity of Washington Camp and Duquesne are many other valuable 
properties, including the Belmont, Redbird group, Emma, all upon the same 
great contact of lime and porphyry, and all showing large and well defined 
bodies of copper sulphides, with considerable development. Eventually the dis- 
trict will be a great seat of metal production. The entire Patagonia region has 
an abundance of wood and water. 

Upon the western slope of the Patagonia Mountains and eastward from the 
Santa Cruz River is ^ the 

Old Tucson Mining District, 

In which there are a large number of very promising properties, where good 
showings have been made in extensive workings. The Chicago & Patagonia 
Mining Company, J. T. Brickwood, general manager, are developing the Old 
Soldier group of mines, which is about twelve miles northeast from Nogales. 
They have a working shaft 200 feet deep, and a prospecting shaft about 150 
feet on an incline following down a well defined ledge bearing high grade copper 
ores carrying gold and silver, with 500 feet of drifts and crosscuts. 

The Golden Rose Mining Company, under bond to the Arizona-Mexico In- 
vestment Company, of Nogales, has a group of five claims further down the 
western slope of the mountain, toward the river, with a large body of good gold 
ore, and is arranging for erection of a mill for its reduction. Mr. L. W. Jimmie, of 
Nogales, is president of the company. The gentleman is also owner of the 
Blackhawk, a rich silver property in the same vicinity, which shows four feet 
of good ore, some going as high as 1,600 ounces in silver per ton. The Glad- 
stone Mining Company are working the Macedonia and Arizona, two valuable 
copper properties, the ores carrying gold and silver. In the same district the 
Nogales Copper Company owns a group of copper mines presenting a fine show- 
ing, with considerable development. The Prudential Mining Company has also 
a good group of claims, upon which extensive development shows large bodies 
of high grade copper ores carrying gold and silver. Mention of other good 
properties is necessarily omitted. 

11 



Westward from Nogales about thirty miles is the 

Oro Blanco District, 

A gold region, where are the Warsaw, Montana, Sorreltop, Old Glory, and a 
number of other mines. There is some placer mining in the district, but opera- 
tions in both quartz and placer mining are greatly restricted by an insufficient 
supply of water. Storm waters are impounded in reservoirs and saved for use. 
A succession of dry seasons has rendered water very scarce, and there has been 
little doing. This year summer rains have been very abundant, and the cycle of 
eleven years to which Arizona is subject having now passed out of the period of 
drouth and entered a period of several years of abundant rains, the Oro Blanco 
region will now enjoy a period of renewed activity. 
Upon the north of Santa Cruz County lies 

Pima County, 

One of the oldest and largest in Arizona, from which have been carved several 
other counties, including Santa Cruz, Cochise, Pinal, Graham and Yuma. The 
county once included all that part of Arizona which came to the United States 
with the Gadsden purchase. Tucson, the county seat, disputes with San 
Augustine and Santa Fe the palm of seniority among cities in the United SLi:;es. 
The county has a number of rich mineral regions, including the Silver Bell dis- 
trict, in which the Old Boot mine recently sold for more than one million dol- 
lars ; the Red Rock, Imperial, Helvetia, Rosemont, San Xavier and other dis- 
tricts. The San Xavier mission, about nine miles south from Tucson, is another 
of the early missions founded by the Spanish conquerors, and long the seat of 
a religious order. It is about fifty miles north from the Tumacacori mission, in 
the Santa Cruz valley. 

Another county in southern Arizona is included in the area which came un- 
der the stars and stripes with the Gadsden purchase — Cochise. It is the south- 
eastern county in the Territory, and includes one of the richest mineral fields 
anywhere in the world, in which are the far-famed silver mines at Tombstone, 
and the equally famous copper mines at Bisbee. The 

Tombstone Mines 

Were discovered by Ed Schiefflein, in 1878, and during a period of nearly ten 
vears they were very rich in production, the camp being one of the most noted 
and lively in the Rocky Mountain region. With depth of operation the handling 
of water in the mines became a serious problem, and the various mining com- 
panies could not agree upon an equitable method of keeping their mines dry. 
It was a case where unity of effort was required. The companies owning the 
deepest mines refused to drain all the other properties through their pump 
shafts. Other differences arose, and operations were abandoned, the pumps 
drawn, the mines filled with water, and Tombstone was desolate for a period of 
ten or twelve years. In 1901 the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company ac- 
quired 95 per cent of the property and set about a systematic development and 
operation of the long abandoned mines. A four-compartment shaft has been 
sunk nearly 1,000 feet, and is simk steadily as the water lowers. It measures 
7x22 feet inside the timbers. Two great hoisting engines assist in the opera- 
tions, and the pumps have a lifting capacity of 2,500,000 gallons of water every 
twenty-four hours. 

The mines have been examined and reported by mining engineers of world- 
wide standing and reputation ; and the concensus of expert and scientific opinion 
is that geological indications and past records all point to continuation of the ore 

1 j 



deposit to great depths. Since these mines were closed down there have been 
great improvements in methods of mine operation and ore reduction, which have 
greatly cheapened the cost of metal production. With those improved and cheap- 
ened methods of operation the phenomenal earnings of former years will be 
surpassed, even with silver at a discount of 60 per cent from the price it com- 
manded in the halcyon days of the camp. 

Within two 3^ears Tombstone has been connected with the outside world by 
rail, a branch of the El Paso & Southwestern Railway having been constructed 
from Fairbank, nine miles distant. 

About twenty-seven miles south from Tombstone, and within nine miles of 
the International Boundary, fifty miles east from Nogales, are the great 

Bisbee Copper Mines, 

Where are conducted the operations of the Copper Queen Mining Company and 
the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company. The first named company has pro- 
duced copper continuously since 1880, and the production has steadily increased 




NOGAI^ES IN 1901— View Along International I^ine. 



from 1,379,940 pounds of refined copper in that year to 36,385,000 pounds in 
1903, an aggregate of 400,000,000 pounds within the period of twenty-four years. 
The Calumet & Arizona Company did not begin smelting until 1902, in which 
year its production was 2,066,676 pounds of refined copper, which output was 
raised to 25,000,000 pounds in 1903. 

During many years the Copper Queen Company conducted its smelting oper- 
ations at Bisbee, but during the present year it has dismantled its smelting plant, 
and now its ores are transported by rail twenty-seven miles to Douglas, where 
they are treated in a new and colossal reduction plant of 2,500 tons daily capacity, 
in which are reduced not only the ores from Bisbee, but those from Nacozari, 
Sonora (Moctezuma Copper Co.), and Morenci, Arizona (Detroit Copper Co.), 
all under the same ownership as the Copper Queen. 

The Calumet & Arizona Company has also at Douglas, a new and thriving 
town on the International Boundary, about seventy miles east from Nogales, an 
extensive reduction plant constructed upon the most scientific principles, capable 
of the most economical production of refined copper. 

13 



Banco be Sonera. 

Paid-up Capital, $1,000,000. Surplus, $500,000. 
Main Office: HERMOSILLO. Branches: NOGALES, GUAYMAS, CHIHUAHUA. 

BRANCH IN NOGALES. 

F. PELTIER, Manager. 

A GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS TRANSACTED. 

Foreign Exchange, Go'd and Silver Bullion Bought and Sold. Collections Carefully Made and 

Promptly Accounted For. Deposits Received in American 

and Mexican Money. 

Albert Steinfeld & Co., 

General Merchandise. 

The Largest Department Store in the Southwest. 
===== TUCSON, ARIZONA. = 

BRANCH AT NOGALES. 

A. ALLANDE, Manager. 



International Investment Co. 



Mine». Ranches. Real Estate. Cattle. 



Office in Montezuma notel. NOGALES, ARIZ. 



Sonoita Oil Company^ 

of Nogales, Arizona. 
Capital, $5,000,000. 

PROPERTY, 8,000 ACRES Land, with first=class indications for OIL, 

located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, within one=half 

mile of the New^ Mexico 6 Arizona Railroad. 



14 



In the Warren district (Bisbee and vicinity) a number of other strong com- 
panies are developing fine properties, among which may be named the Calu- 
met & Bisbee Development Co., Calumet & Cochise Development Co., Lake 
Superior & Pittsburg, Calumet & Pittsburg, Pittsburg & Duluth, Wolverine, etc. 
All these companies have extensive holdings upon which many hundred thousand 
dollars have been expended in scientific development, with every confidence that 
they will all take rank as great and permanent producers. 

To describe the various mining districts of Cochise County would tax the 
capacity of a library, without mentioning a modest pamphlet like this. There 
may be named the Turquoise, Gleason, Pearce and Dragoon districts in the Dra- 
goon Mountains; the Paradise and Bowie and Dos Cabesas districts in the 
Chiracahua Mountains, and many others, all having productive mines. 

About fifty miles by rail southwest from Bisbee, entering the state of Sonora, 
Mexico, at Naco, are the great 

Cananea Copper Mines,. 

Where the Cananea Consolidated Copper Company (Greene Consolidated Copper 
Company in the United States) have within five years developed and established 
one of the greatest copper mining camps in the known world, the production 
of which in 1903 was 45,000,000 pounds of refined copper. The mining lands 
of this company, 4,214 pertenencias (a pertenencia is a hectare) , equivalent to 
10,408 acres. The ores are of great extent and variety, including great masses 
of oxides, carbonates and sulphides, with frequent deposits of native copper, oc- 
curring through a distance of seven and one-half miles along the main tract of 
the company, which lies along the east side of the southern half of the main 
range of the Cananea Mountains, seventy-five miles southeast from Nogales. 

The mineral holdings of the Cananea Consolidated (Greene Consolidated) 
Company are divided into five zones — the Cobre Grande, Veta Grande, Esperanza, 
Capote and Puertocitas. The developed ore body in the Veta Grande is quoted 
by the Copper Handbook (1904 edition), an eminent authority, as having been 
in June, 1903, six million tons, averaging 10 per cent copper. The Capote ore 
body is estimated to have a minimum width of 165 feet and a maximum width of 
225 feet, with eleven millions of tons of ore exposed, which estimate the au- 
thority above quoted asserts could be increased without damage to the truth. 
Work in these ore bodies constantly extends their limits, and extensive develop- 
ments in the other zones named are exposing great reserves of valuable ores. The 

Machinery Plant 

At Cananea is one of the most extensive and complete upon the continent. The 
buildings are with steel frames, covered by iron sides and roofs. The power 
plant has three engines, with direct connected 100 K.W. dynamos and one 2cc 
K.W. dynamo, giving a total of 700 H.P. This plant generates a 250-volt cur- 
rent to supply power wherever needed about the plant, and furnishes light for 
all the mine buildings and the two towns of the camp — Ronquillo and La 
Cananea. 

The furnace building encloses eight Mitchell economical, hot blast, air jacketed 
furnaces, the united capacity being a daily consumption of about 1,300 tons 
of ore. A new concentrating mill with a daily capacity of 2,400 tons of ore has 
recently been completed and set into operation. By its use in concentration of 
the silicious ores, and smelting of the concentrates with other non-silicious ores, 
the ore consumxption is raised to about 3,000 tons daily and the output of blister 
copper will be more than doubled, very likely reaching an annual product of 
100,000,000 pounds of refined copper. 

15 



The blister copper is shipped east, where it is refined for the company at 
a very favorable rate. 

The mines and works are connected by an eleven-mile narrow gauge rail- 
way, well equipped with motive power and rolling stock, ample to meet all re- 
quirements. 

The company conducts extensive boarding houses for employes, a colossal 
department store and a bank, the latter with a capital of $200,000 Mexican, and 
doing a highly profitable business. In 1903 the company paid three dividends 
of 2 per cent each, in January, February and March, after the net earnings were 
put into betterments. With those completed, and with the consequent increased 
production, 3 per cent dividends are now being paid every two months — 18 
per cent per annum. The capitalization is $8,640,000. 

The Democrata Mining Company has properties in a central location, sur- 
rounded by those of the greater corporation. Its ground is well developed, with 
great ore reserves, and it has a 250-ton reduction plant, complete. 

The Indiana-Sonora Mining Co. (Copper Queen) has also extensive hold- 
ings at Cananea, upon which active development is in hand. No ore has been 
shipped, but in due time shipments will probably go to the new smelter at 
Douglas. 

Cananea, which is in the Arizpe district of Sonora, supports a population 
-of very near 20,000, and is the largest camp in operation in Sonora. Seven years 
ago there were not 500 people in the entire region. 

In the Cananea Mountains are many valuable undeveloped and partly de- 
veloped copper properties which need only capital and scientific management to 
bring them into the list of producers. The region is but a single field in a great 
copper belt extending from Globe and Clifton and Morenci, north of the Gila, 
through tO' the Mayo River, the southern limit of the state of Sonora, including 
the three camps named — Bisbee, Cananea; Nacozari and Transvaal in the Moc- 
tezuma district; Santo Nino (Yaqui Copper Co.), Tonichi and Chipiona (Ciene- 
guita Copper Co.), in the Sahuaripa district; Baroyeca and Piedras VerdeS, in 
the Alamos district. Of some of the others, more hereafter. 

About midway between Cananea and Nacozari, directly south from Bisbee 
about sixty miles, is another partly developed copper region of immense area 
and possibilities, the property of P. Sandoval & Co., bankers, Nogales, Sonora. 

But to return to our starting point, "the line city." On the Mexican side 
of the International Boundary is the 

Magdalena District, 

One of the richest and most attractive in Mexico. It is the seat of some of the 
most noted and historic mines of the Spanish occupation, including the Planchas 
de Plata, Cocospera, Higuera and Cerro Prieto, and is now the scene of 
great activity. 

One of the most interesting of these antigua properties lies about twenty 
miles southwest from Nogales, and is known as "Planchas de Plata " (Plates 
of Silver) . In the Historia del Nayarit, instanced at the outset of this pamphlet, 
it is related that some fifteen years preceding the publication of the work, which 
dated the discovery back to the year 1739, a mineral discovery was made a short 
distance from the Real de Arizona (whence may have been derived the name 
of the Territory) which attracted the attention not only of New Spain, but of 
all the nations of Europe. A Yaqui Indian working in the vicinity revealed to 
a trader his surprising find, and the other made it public. The news of mineral 
wealth so abundant spread far and wide, and soon attracted a great multitude. 



Nicely Furnished Rooms. Prices Moderate. 

BRICKWOOD HOUSE, 

NOGALES, ARIZONA. 

First-CIass in Every Respect. J. T. BRICKWOOD, Proper. 



Banker of " La Mexicana" 
Life Insurance Co. 



C. RAMIREZ, 



Agent of Waters-Pierce Oil 
Co., and of the principal Com- 
mercial Houses of the West- Custom Housc BroKcp and Commission Merchant, 

em Coast of Mexico. Established 1887- 



Owner of extensive Gold NOGALES, ARIZONA. 

and Copper Mining Conces- 
sions in Sonora and Lower 
California. General Attorney. P. 0. Box 20. 



Arizona=Mexico Investment Company, 

(Incorporated.) 

Nogales, Arizona. 

Mines and Mining Investments. 



Brady=Levin Coramission Co. 

Custom House Brokers. 

=^= Investments in Mexico. 
Mines, Lands, Cattle, Ranches. 

Apartado No. 38, P. O. Box No. 485, 

Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Nogales, Santa Cruz Co., Ariz. 



18 



At a depth of a few z'aras (Spanish 5'arcls, about thirty-three inches) in the bed 
of a canon cutting down the side of a mountain were found 

Masses of Pure Silver, 

Globular in form, weighing one to two arrobas (an arroha is twenty-five pounds). 




Several pieces weighing twenty arrobas each were taken out, and one found by 
a man from Guadalajara, weighed twenty-one arrobas (525 pounds). The author 
relates that as no animal could carry so great a weight as a pack, and an eflfort 
to cut or melt down the lump was not successful, an ingenious contrivance was 
employed for its transportation. 



2— 



A litter or carriage was slung between two 
17 



pack mules, the mass of metal was raised into the branches of a tree, the ani- 
mals led underneath, the load lowered to the resting place designed for it, and 
in that way it was easily transported. 

Another work, entitled Los Ocios Espanoks, refers to the discovery, and 
J. F. Velasco, who wrote in 1845 ^ very valuable book descriptive of mines in 
Sonora, gives it extended mention, quoting both the authorities cited, and refers 
also to documents relating thereto existing in the archives of the missions of 
Pimeria Alt a. 

Velasco relates that in 1817 Dionisio G. Robles, of Rayon, a town on the San 
Miguel River, about 175 miles southeast, fitted out an expedition and proceeded 
to Arizona for the purpose of exploring these mines. They remained in the 
locality but eight days, being driven out by Apaches. They found a small lump 
weighing about five pounds, but they felt that had they been permitted to remain 
longer their search would have been richly rewarded. The members of the 
expedition all agreed that the entire region was rich in minerals, and that east- 
ward from the scene of their explorations was a mountain ridge containing 
numerous veins of silver, crossing each other in all directions. That was probably 
the field of recent exploration and development. 

The authorities quoted all relate that the larger masses found were immedi- 
ately seized by the military commandant at the Presidio of Altar, claiming them 
as the property of the Crown. The parties interested protested, but were over- 
ruled. Appealing to the audience chamber at Guadalajara, they were referred 
to the Court at Madrid. After seven years the King decreed the silver as of 
the royal patrimony, and ordered that the mines be worked for his own benefit. 
That decree caused abandonment of the property by the claimants, and for some 
reason the King's order to work it was never complied with. From that time, 
with the exception of the effort of Robles in 18 17, no attempt was made to work 

Las Planchas de Plata Mines 

Until 1878, when Captain A. N. Towne put up a 5-stamp mill and operated 
several years. In 1886 Doctor A. J. Clarke, now residing at Santa Ana, acquired 
the property, erected a small mill, established a store, and successfully and profit- 
ably conducted operations through several years. Later an American company 
bought the property; but about all they succeeded in doing was development 
of a protracted and costly litigation. Finalh^, between four and five years ago, 
Messrs. P. Sandoval & Co., Bankers and Brokers of Nogales, secured owner- 
ship, and set about exploitation and development on a very careful and economical 
basis. Conditions seemed very unfavorable, but the enterprising firm, with daunt- 
less zeal and energ}', set about improving the conditions. They reopened and 
cleaned the old mines, opened new ones, repaired and renovated the old mill, and 
resumed bullion production. With an old lo-stamp mill, subject to frequent 
breakdowns which took up about half the time in repairs, they nevertheless suc- 
ceeded in realizing a monthly profit of $1,500, which was regularly maintained 
during a period of more than four years. In the course of that time they de- 
veloped and exposed, ready to stope and send to the mill, large bodies of low 
grade ore which would pay to treat upon an extensive scale with a large mill, the 
erection of one in the near future being contemplated. Five hundred tons of 
ore daily could be supplied such a mill through an indefinite period. Hereto- 
fore only high grade ores have been sent to the mill, and hundreds of thousands 
of tons which would pay to work on a large scale are left in the workings. 

The geological characteristics of the Planchas de Plata region are marked 
and striking. To the eastward a distance of eight or ten miles an immense 
trachyte dyke, running in a northerly and southerly direction many miles, and 

19 



many hundred feet in width, has been thrust up through a series of limestone beds 
superimposed upon a porphyry field, pushing back both formations, folding and 
crumpling back the rocks for miles beyond. In the axes of the folds the crushing 
and crumpling of the rocks on the lines of contact, aided perhaps by an upthrust 
from below, broke and ground the porphyry into a fragmentary condition, leav- 




ing in many places great air vesicles and even chambers. Then came a great 
flow of superheated waters, strongly impregnated with salts of silver, depositing 
bromides and chlorides upon the cleavage planes of the broken rock and filling 
the air vesicles and chambers with the native metal. Released from their beds 
by erosion and rolling down into the bed of the canon below, the "plates of 

20 



FINEST WINTER CLIMATE IN THE WORLD. 




HOTE.L ARCADIA, 

HE,RMOSILLO, 

Sonora, J\lexico. 



The Boston Clothing House. 




Branch Stores in 
Cananea, Hermosillo and Guaymas. 



Specialty: 

General Gents' Furnishings, 

The Finest 

and Most Complete Stock 

in the Southwest. 



Headquarters for Miners' and 
Prospectors' Outfii tings. 



L. B. Fleischer, 

Nogales, Arizona. 



Copyright, 1904, Eohn Brothers, Chicago. 



21 



silver" constituted the great find chronicled by the Jesuit author, and the broken 
porphyry impjegnated with chlorides and bromides in the mountain ridge to 
the eastward was the network of veins of silver, crossing each other in all direc- 
tions, described by members of the Robles expedition in 1817. The silver bear- 
ing rocks are plainly porphyry, the cleavage planes coated with bromides and 
chlorides. Where they have been greatly crushed and broken the values run 
high, and where they are broken into large pieces the ores are of lower grades. 
The ores that have been milled have run from 100 ounces up to 2,000 ounces 
per ton. The immense masses left in the mine yield from thirty to sixty ounces. 

The properties included in the holdings of the Sandovals (Big Mountain 
Mining Co. is the name of the corporation) comprise about 320 acres. Besides 
theirs there are in the vicinity the Mejia mine, owned in Guaymas, and La 
Corriisca, owned by Mr. Bracey Curtis, of Nogales. The latter property Mr. 
A. W. Tennant is developing under bond. 

About six miles north from Las Planchas de Plata are the Promontorio mines, 
now owned and operated by the Promontorio Consolidated Mining Company. 
During many years these mines were under the ownership of Mr. L. Ephraim, 
of Nogales, who was a constant shipper of high grade ores. A small concentrator 
treated the second class rock, and the concentrates were shipped. The company 
now owning the property are commencing extensive operations and erectio.i of 
a large reduction plant, which will put the really fine property in the front rank 
as a permanent and profitable producer. The property is developed by means of 
tunnels and winzes, which have exposed large bodies of high grade silver ores, 
carrying gold. Its location, close to railway, and the numerous advantages it 
enjoys for cheap and economical operation, together with the extent of the prop- 
erty, the extent of the developed ore bodies, and the high grade of the ores, all 
tend to make of the Promontorio an ideal mining proposition. 

About twenty-five miles southeast from Planchas de Plata, twelve miles 
eastward from the line of the Sonora Railway, at Ouijano station, thirty miles 
south from Nogales, is the camp of the Hays Mining, Milling & Lumber Com- 
pany, of Washington, D. C. This corporation owns 50,000 acres of fine timber 
land, underneath which run numerous large and well defined ledges of copper, 
carrving gold and silver, and a large gold bearing ledge twelve feet in width, 
rich in free gold, that will pay very handsomely to mill. A 30-stamp mill has 
been recently completed and set into operation. 

Upon the east side of the Pineta Mountains is the valley of the 

Cocospera River, 

Where are the ruins of an ahtiguo mission church and the vestiges of what was 
once a goodly sized town, with great slag dumps which bear evidence that the 
place was the site of extensive smelting operations. In the Pineta Mountains 
and the Sierra Azul, upon either side, are many antigua mines, whence came the 
ores reduced at the smelters. In one of the antiguas the Sierra Azul Mining 
Company have developed a fine body of high grade wolframite, rich in gold. This 
ore concentrates easily and commands a high price. 

West of the Sonora Railway in this region are the Guacomea Mountains in 
which there have been mining operations of some extent. The Guacomea Min- 
ing Company operated a 20-stamp mill several years and made shipments of 
gold bullion, some of which was smuggled out of the Republic without paying 
the export duty, and the property was confiscated. The original owners, having 
not been paid the entire purchase price, were restored to possession, and they 
sold to the Hays Company, which moved the machinery to the Pineta Mountains, 
adding it to a lo-stamp mill they had previously had in operation. 

22 



In this vicinity the line of the Sonora Railway follows the Magdalena River, 
a beautiful valley flanked by mountains upon either side. Fifty miles south from 
Nogales is Magdalena, a town of about 3,000 inhabitants, seat of government 
of the district, and also of a great and growing trade with rapidly developing 
mining regions, and surrounded by a rich agricultural and horticultural region. 

About fifty miles eastward from Magdalena the Dolores and Santo Domingo 
Rivers unite to form the Rio San Miguel. Above the junction, in the canon of 
the Santo Domingo, is the great placer gold field which bears the name of the 
river, and several miles farther up the stream is another great field of auriferous 
deposit named La Brisca. Both of these fields are embraced in the holdings of 
the Greene Consolidated Gold Co., of New York, the area including one of the 
richest known gold deposits, extending nearly fifteen miles along the river chan- 
nel, together with the gravel benches along either side, which have long been 
celebrated for the richness of their deposits of placer gold. These deposits were 
derived from erosion of innumerable gold ledges in the ranges surrounding the 
river valley, known as the Caliche, Sierra Azul and Santa Rosalia Mountains, 
forming a great natural basin drained by the river. This region is declared by 
Prof. Robert T. Hill, of the United States Geological Survey, to be "one of the 

Greatest Gold Bearing Regions 

In the world." The river has cut its channel through a formation of yellowish 
tufaceous material to a depth of 100 to 400 feet. The main channel has numerous 
collateral feeders, which extend from the gold bearing veins to the central chan- 
nel, and have also cut numerous canons from thirty to 100 feet in depth. Geolog- 
ical indications are that the basin was once dammed by a barrier at the lower 
end, since removed by erosion, which formed a lake, upon the bottom of which 
was gradually deposited through the ages a bed of reddish gravel from forty to 
100 feet in depth, carrying gold in large quantities. As erosion continued the 
deposits of gravel were gradually removed from the benches and distributed upon 
the bed of the river to their present depth of forty to sixty feet of pay gravel 
upon the bed rock, which innumerable and exhaustive tests show to run from 
seventy cents to twelve dollars per cubic yard. 

This section of the country was noted as one of the sources of the great 
supply of gold which during the early Spanish occupation poured across the 
Sierra Madre to the vice-regal court at the City of Mexico, thence to the royal 
treasury of Spain; and before that time it was the source of much of the gold 
that the Aztecs had accumulated, to have wrested from their possession by the 
daring conquistador es. The beds of the canons in the surrounding mountains 
were worked by the Spaniards and by their Aztec predecessors; but they were 
unable to handle the immense volume of water in the river channel and percolat- 
ing to the bed rock (the surface flow never less than 200 inches, and that under- 
ground much greater). 

The Greene Consolidated Gold Company have thoroughly tested and ex- 
plored this ground a distance of fourteen miles along the river channel, sinking 
shafts to bed rock and running drifts, proving that the gravel gives uniform 
gold values through the non-worked canon. Now extensive appliances for recov- 
ery of the gold from the gravel are in course of installation. Steam shovels 
and aerial tramways are being installed to move the gravel and dump it into 
sluice boxes, where the values will be sluiced out. Heavy pumps will drain the 
bed of the stream, discharging the water into the sluices, separating the gold 
from the gravel, leaving it deposited in the riffles. The water, which has here- 
tofore been an insuperable obstacle to working the rich gravel, by the natives, 

23 



will be made to contribute to the work, and will afford the cheapest and most 
economical method for separating and saving the gold. 

In the region surrounding the Santo Domingo River are several good, pro- 




ducing gold mines, with antiguo records extending back to the days of the Spanish 
occupation. Among these are the Caliche, Klondyke, Tucabe and 

Cerro Prieto Mines, 

The latter being situated within a few miles of the confluence of the Santo Do- 
mingo and Dolores Rivers. The properties include a group of mines embracing 
I02 pertenencias of mining ground. The name Cerro Prieto (Black Mountain) 
is applied to a lofty ridge of dark limestone, about 7,000 feet in length, rising 
about 1,000 feet above the mill site at its southern base. Through the ridge 

24 



Y. Boniiia^, 

MINING ENGINEER, 

Nogales, $onora, Mexico. 

A Specialty Made of Surveys of Land 
Grants, Mining Property and Underground 
Work. 


Richard Gayou, 

MIJWIJVG ENGIJ^EER 

FROM 
Freiberg, Saxony. 

31 Years' Practice in Mexico. 

Nogales, Sonora. 


B. F. DANIELS. A. M. CONARD. 

CONARD& DANIELS, 

Mines, Ranches and Cattle in 
Mexico and Arizona. 

Marsh Bldg., Rooms 2 & 4. Nogales, Arizona. 


EB. KILL1AIII8, 

Attorney at Law. 

Marsh Building, 

Nogales, Arizona. 


FRANK J. DUFFY, 

Attorney at Law 

Practices in Territorial and Supreme Courts. 
SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO MINING CASES. 
Office in Montezuma Bldg. Nogales, Arizona. 


Albert L. Gnstetter, M. D., 

PHYSICIAN AND SlIROEON. 

Oflice and Residence over L. W. Mix's 
Drug Store. 

Telephone No. hZ. NOGALES, ARIZONA. 


Ray Ferguson, M. D. A. S. Russell, M. D. 

Ferguson & Russell, 
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 

Phone, Main IJ. 

Office Hours, 10 to t2 a,m.; 2 to 4 and 7 to 8 p.m. 

Nogales, Arizona. 


H. W. PUI<DY, M. D., 

Nogales, Arizona. 

Physician and Surgeon. 

Telephone, Nos. 546 and 571. 


Edgar Rutherford, M. D., 

PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON. 
Nogales, Arizona. 


Dr. A. A. Doherty, 

Dentist. 

Nogales, Arizona. 

Office Hours, 8 a. m. to 5 p. tn. 



25 



runs a great porphyry dyke, varying from ten to one hundred feet in width, all 
mineraHzed, carrying gold in quantities to pay handsomely when treated on a 
large scale. The rock is soft, friable, easily milled, and the gold readily separated. 
Wherever tested in the entire distance of 7,000 feet the rock yields from one to 
eight dollars in gold. The property has been opened by a series of tunnels, the 
lowest, but a short distance vertically above the mill site, having reached a length 
of 1,000 feet. This tunnel is 800 feet below the upper tunnel, now in operation, 
and all are connected by upraises, so ores from the tunnels above are dropped 
down to the lowest tunnel level, and out to the mill. A 20-stamp mill has been 
in operation several years, but it will be shortly replaced by one with a daily 
capacity of 200 tons. 

About seven miles northeast from Cerro Prieto is the Providencia group, 
very similar to the former in general characteristics — formation, great ledges, 
free gold, etc. Beyond that, still to the northeast, is the Caliche, a great moun- 
tain of low grade gold ore, which is bonded to the Greene Consolidated Gold Co. 

Beyond the Santo Domingo River some eight or ten miles, eastward from 
Cerro Prieto, are the Klondyke and Tucabe camps. Ihe Klondyke has a five- 
stamp mill, and its monthly production of gold bullion runs from $9,000 upward. 
The Tucabe has a five-foot Huntington mill, with a daily capacity of ten to fifteen 
tons. It has shipped some very fine gold bullion. In the immediate vicinity of 
the Klondyke is the Rey del Oro (King of the Gold), an antigua mine which 
shows extensive workings. It has a broad ledge, varying from ten to thirty 
feet in width, with free milling gold values disseminated through all parts. A 
tunnel is following the ledge to cut under the old works, and it is in ore with 
goodly values all the way. The property needs a large mill, and with one would 
pay very handsomely. There are many more good prospects in the vicinity. 

Down the San Miguel River, just below the union of the Dolores and Santo 
Domingo to form the first named stream, is the town of Cucurpe — modern in its 
present acceptation, but the site of an older town that was of some importance 
during the time of the Spanish occupation. Westward from Cucurpe a league 
and a half is 

'^La Higuera/' 

A gold region which bears every evidence of having been the seat of extensive 
operations in antigua days. There was once a large town, as shown in the vestiges 
of many buildings ; and the ruins of more than a score of arrastras show the 
method of ore reduction employed. The formation is lime and porphyry, between 
which runs in a north and south direction a great dyke twenty to sixty feet wide 
and nearly a mile long. The rock material in the dyke includes lime sulphates 
and quartz, and it bears geologic evidence that in the formative period it was 
finely crushed and broken, and a flow of gold-impregnated solutions precipitated 
their contents among the finely comminuted rock. Present development is mostly 
by tunnels, which have exposed an eighteen-foot ore body which mills from six 
to fifteen dollars per ton. The properties, including about 200 acres of ground, are 
owned by a company organized by the Brady-I.evin Co., of Nogales and Tucson, 
which is vigorously prosecuting development work, the cost being materially 
assisted by the output of a small 5-stamp mill. In the near future a larger mill 
will be erected and set into operation. 

Passing down the San Miguel River there are good mineral regions in the 
mountains on either side, and westward toward the railway there are Animas, 
Santa Barbara and a number of other mining camps, with any number of antigua 
regions that would pay to prospect and develop. At Llano station on the Sonora 
Railway is the San Francisco mine, a gold property upon which a lo-stamp mill 
has been steadily and profitably running several years. In the immediate vicinity, 

26 



Las Rieles is the name of a promising gold property, close to the railway track, 
which is in course of development. At Tuape the San Miguel River passes 
into the 

Ures District, 

One of the richest in natural resources in the state. Eastward from the town 
are the extensive copper properties of the Richfield Mining Company, upon which 
considerable development work has exposed large bodies, of valuable ores. There 
are other valuable prospects and properties in the vicinity. Westward toward 
the railway is the Querobabi region, in which are a number of promising gold 
properties. 

Farther down the San Miguel River, in the vicinity of Opedepe, is the San 
Ricardo, a gold mine with a record of rich production going back into antigua 
days. It was operated by an American company twelve years and more ago. 
They erected a 20-stamp mill and shipped a great deal of gold bullion. Detected 
in smuggling some of the gold out of the country without payment of the export 
duty, they lost the property, which was confiscated by the Mexican Government. 
The mill went to ruin, and later the property was sold to another American com- 
pany, of Canton, Ohio, which has done considerable development and erected a 
mill.' It was projected to be of 20-stamps, and the machinery is upon the ground; 
but as yet only five stamps have been set up. There is a twelve-foot ledge of 
good gold ore^ which has been developed to such an extent that competent ex- 
perts declare it shows one million dollars in sight, which could be recovered to 
material profit by the operation of a 20-stamp mill. 

Westward from. San Ricardo several miles is the Mina de Oro (Mine of Gold) 
in operation, a Huntington mill producing regular bullion shipments. The Santa 
Gertrudis is another good property near at hand. In the same vicinity is the 
Amarillas, a silver property, with an antigua record of rich production. In one 
small chamber is shown where more than $100,000 in values were extracted with- 
in a few weeks. Recently the old shaft has been pumped out, and sinking was 
resumed. A goodly showing of high grade shipping ore has been already made. 
About six miles from the Amarillas, southward, is the Socorro mine, which has 
a great record of production, in recent years as well as in antigua times. About 
a year ago the property was bought by some experienced Colorado miners, who 
have unwatered the workings, cleaned them out, and started development. In 
the same vicinity are the Nopalera, Tortuga and other good mining properties, 
while the region offers alluring inducements to the prospector. From San 
Ricardo and El Oro on the north to Socorro and Nopalera on the south, a rec- 
tangular area about five miles by fifteen, the solid granite is cut by numerous 
ledges, all of which show good gold and silver values on the croppings, and 
would doubtless prove profitable with development. Anywhere in the United 
States the region would be alive with prospectors, and several hundred shafts 
would be sinking. 

A few leagues farther down the river from Opedepe is the town of Rayon, 
the center of another important mineral region, in the vicinity of which are 
the properties of the Palo Alto Mining Company, which make a good showing 
in copper. Below Rayon is the San Francisco mine, a gold property which is 
yielding handsomely by the old arrastra process of reduction. Southwest from 
Rayon about seven miles is the noted 

Copete Mining Region, 

Where the Copete Mining Company has extensive holdings, and a smelting plant 
of 250 tons daily capacity, which; however, has not been in operation for two 
years or more. Development is progressing upon the 500-foot level, where good 

27 



ore is reported, and it is anticipated that the smeUer will again blow in some- 
time in the near future. 

Adjoining the Copete is the Sultana mine, the property of the Giroux Con- 
solidated Mining Company, of New York, which is deemed one of the coming 
great min^s of Sonora. A shaft has been sunk to a depth of 1,050 feet, in rich 
sulphide ores of copper carrying gold and silver. ■ At the depth stated the ore 
body is thirty-five feet in width, and the ores yield values in the three metals to 
the' amount of eighty dollars gold per ton. The ore body is opened by several 
levels and numerous drifts, aggregating several thousand linear feet. Two 
thousand feet away another shaft is sinking, and is now down about 350 feet, 
all the way in ores of the same quality and value as those developed in the deeper 
shaft. The policy of the company contemplates erection of an extensive reduc- 
tion plant; but in the meantime the richer ores will be shipped. 

Beyond the Sultana is the Colorado mine, property of Mr. C. S. Mills and 
associates. In this property several thousand feet of tunnels and crosscuts have 
developed large bodies of low grade gold ores, with very rich spots, the ores from 
the latter being successfully and profitably worked by arrasfras. 

The Copete region offers great allurements to prospectors, as there are num- 
erous ledges in kindly formation that can be secured from the Mexican Gov- 
ernment by the prescribed methods of acquiring and holding titles to mineral 
lands. The same assertion may be truthfully made of all the regions noted in 
these pages ; and to enumerate all the mines in all the regions would expand 
this little pamphlet to a ponderous volume. 

Following down the San Miguel and leaving the Ures district for a time, 
the stream joins the Sonora River in the Hermosillo district, not far from the 
city of the same name, the state capital. The Hermosillo is one of the richest 
districts in Sonora, and also one of the greatest in area, extending from the Gulf 
of California to the Yaqui River — as also does the Ures district. In the Hermo- 
sillo district are the great 



■4. 



^ Minas Prietas Gold Mines, 



are located about thirty-five miles southeast from Hermosillo, and twelve 
miles from the line of the Sonora Railway, over the Torres & Prietas Railway 
— a narrow gauge line. The camp was one of the antiguos, the mines having 
been worked more than 160 years ago. Authentic accounts present that in 1743 
some of these mines, including La Mina Color ada, were operated by Jesuit 
missionaries, who realized great profits. Persistent depredations by Indians 
compelled abandonment of operations some years thereafter. In 1790 and several 
years following the Prietas and other mines were worked with good results by 
venturesome miners, who had been attracted to the region by reports of former 
successful operations. As depth was attained water compelled abandonment, 
as the primitive method of carrying water in rawhide buckets upon the backs 
of men, climbnig rude ladders (notched poles) was not calculated to cope with 
the subterranean flow. In this day and generation immense pumps with raising 
capacity of thousands of gallons hourly, working a thousand feet or more below 
the surface, keep free from water miles of drifts and galleries, rendering possible 
development and exploration. 

It is in contemplation of such differences between the early Spanish methods 
and those of the present day that one realizes the ancient mines were not worked 
out and exhausted, or carried to depths so great that further exploration would 
be profitless, a condition that modern methods and machinery have rendered well 
nigh impossible. In those days, to cope with the forces of Nature was a much 

28 



CALIFORNIA FRUIT COMPANY, 



Wholesale and Retail 



Importers of Staple and Fancy Groceries, 

Turkeys, Geese, Ducks and Chickens, 
Nogales, Arizona. 

Leading Produce Supply House. Fine Line of Sundries. 

Telephone No. 121. P. O. Box 75. 



PromoDtorio Consolidated Mining Company, 

Nogales, Arizona. 

H. S. EBERLE, President and Oen. Mgr. R. D. GEORGE, Vice=President. 

L. EPHRAIM, Secretary, Financial and Purchasing Agent. 



RUTyJ GOLFO CORTEZ. 

So NORA Railway 

(Southern Pacific Co.. Lessee.) 
The Pioneer Railroad of the West Mexican Coast. 



NOGALES, MAGDALENA, HERMOSILLO, GUAYMAS. 
Shortest, Safest, Huic'k.est, 

And Most Comfortable Route between All Points in the United States and All Points on the 
West Mexican Coast. Close connections at Gtiaymas with fast and commodious Express 
Steamers for all ports on the West Coast of Mexico, which connect at Mazatlan with Palatial 
Steamers for all ^^j^^^j^^^ AND SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS. 



Mining, Agricultural and Grazing Resources of 

States of Sonora and Sinaloa 

UNSURPASSED. 



For Time Tables, Sailing Dates, Rates of Passage, and other information, address 

J. A. NAUGLE, 

General Passenger Agent, 
Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. Sonora Ry. 



29 



more colossal undertaking than now. In all other processes of mining there is 

The Same Wide Difference 

As between the rawhide bucket and the Riedler pumping engine. Slowlv and 
painfully the aiitigiio miner bored into the rock great holes three to four inches 




in diameter, but not deep. They were filled with lime, plugged, and water 
poured in. Then the miner awaited the slow process of the lime's swelling to 
rend and break the rocks. Today a machine drill bores a three-quarter inch hole 
into the adamantine rock with almost the same ease and facility that a test 

30 



knife bores into a cheese ; a stick of dynamite is inserted, the fuse Hghted, and 
in a few seconds the soHd rock is riven into fragments, and tons of the crumbled 
mass are ready to raise to the surface. And instead of going up in rawhide 
buckets carried upon the backs of men painfully toiling to the surface upon 
rude ladders, a great hoisting engine, as ponderous and magnificent as a loco- 
motive or the machinery of an ocean steamer, shoots to the surface at express 
train speed a carriage which conveys the rock by the ton. And the rude arrastra, 
where a blindfolded burro, circling in the sun the livelong day, dragged around, 
in a paved basin six or eight feet in diameter, a huge rock, grinding by abrasion 
the auriferous ore, to separate and save the gold by amalgamation — the process 
slow, tedious and wasteful — is replaced by a great mill, crushing and grinding 
Tiundreds and thousands of tons of ore daily, employing, beside amalgamation, 
the most subtle processes of chemistry to seek out and extract the most infinites- 
simal atom of value, leaving the pulverized rock when it reaches the tailings bed 
as dry of gold and silver as are the sands of the Sahara of water. Within the 
past quarter of a century fortunes have been made treating by the cyanide process 
and extracting the gold and silver from the tailings dumps of old Spanish mines 
that had been worked long years ago by arrastras. And the primitive vasa, which 
at the best could smelt but a ton or two of non-rebellious rock each day, is re- 
placed by a great smelting furnace with a daily capacity of from thirty to 400 
tons, while by machine concentration before smelting the ore the output of the 
furnace is quadrupled and quintupled, and by improved and wonderful processes 
the most rebellious ores are treated and compelled to deliver their values. The 
contrasts outlined explain why it is 

Now So Profitable 

To work the old abandoned Spanish mines in Mexico. 

After abandonment of the Minas Prietas mines by the antiguos, on 
account of the inflow of water, they were idle for a long period of years. In 
the early sixties there were denounced (located) by Don Ricardo Johnson, a 
practical mining man, yet alive and actively operating in Sonora, several of the 
old mines, including the Creston and the Prietas. Those two he pumped out and 
worked a number of years, realizing some profit. He sold the Prietas to an 
American company, which built a 40-stamp mill at a cost of $300,000, and in 
a short time i?ecovered several millions of dollars, when operations were un- 
fortunately suspended by a fire in the shaft. In 1886 those holdings and others 
of that company passed to the Creston-Colorada Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
which has operated continuously since that time, turning out nearly two millions 
of dollars annually, giving support to thousands, and greatly enriching the for- 
tunate owners. In more recent years the ownership of the company has passed 
from the hands of the Cleveland people to a syndicate of New York financiers 
headed by John W. Gates, at a price which is said to have reached five millions 
of dollars. 

In 1890, or thereabouts, great and rich ore bodies were developed in the 
Grand Central, Amarillas and other properties, upon a ledge parallel to that in 
wliich all former successful operations had been conducted, and another great 
enterprise was launched in the camp, the company erecting splendid machinery, 
and adding immensely to the regular bullion output. 

There are two great companies operating at Minas Prietas, the Creston- 
Colorada and the Grand Central. The properties of the latter company are 
under lease to the Charles Butters Company, Limited. The Creston-Colorada 
Company owns the Prietas, Fortund, Creston, Colorada, the Don Ignacio and 
other properties extending a mile or more along the main ledge. The Creston, 

31 



Fortuna and Prietas mines are at JMinas Prietas proper, and the Colorada and 
Don Ignacio at La Colorada, a section (called comisaria) of the same munici- 
pality, about a mile away. At La Colorada is the mill, consisting of thirty, 
stamps, six Huntington mills, nine amalgamating pans, sixteen Frue vanners ; 
and ir has a daily capacity of near 200 tons. The tailings are treated by cyanide, 
a large and very greatly improved plant having been recently added to the 
equipment, replacing one which had been in operation several years. The mill 
is connected by an Otto wire rope tramway with the Creston hoist, whence 
come the ores from the Fortuna and Creston mines. It is said that the ore re- 
serves exposed for stoping in the Fortuna alone are sufficient to keep the mill 
constantly employed through a decade, with development still continuing; and 
the ore bodies in the other mines named are also large, extensive and valuable. 

The Creston shaft is 1,143 f^^t deep, and it connects with deep workings in 
the Creston, Prietas and Fortuna mines. The hoisting engine is a great machine, 
of superb workmanship and finish, capable of hoisting at express train speed 
heavy ore elevators from a depth of 2,500 feet, and is one of largest and finest 
machines of the kind. A colossal air compressor, propelled by a 500-H.P. Corliss 
engine, supplies compressed air to run the machine drills in the depths, and it 
has a propulsive force sufficient to keep fifty drilling machines in constant opera- 
tion. A great Riedler pump upon the 1,000-foot level, raising to the surface a 
constant and heavy flow of water, keeps the various levels well drained. 

In a sub-section of the camp, locally designated as Primavera, adjacent to 
La Colorada, is the seat of operations of the Charles Butters Company, lessee of 
the properties of the Grand Central Company, which owns the Amarillas and 
Grand Central mines. Upon one side of a narrow canon is the great hoist at 
the Grand Central, and upon the other a large quartz mill with a battery of 
thirty 900-pound stamps and six Huntington mills, with grinding pans, amal- 
gamating pans, Frue vanners, etc. The ore is conveyed across the canon from 
the mine to the mill by an Otto aerial wire- rope tramway about 1,000 feet in 
length. There is also a rail tramway, the cars elevated by a small hoisting engine 
and cable, to transport wood and other mine supplies across the canon and up 
the mountain side to the hoist. A large air compressor supplies propulsion to 
twenty-five machine drills in the mine. 

At the mill the grinding pans, amalgamating pans and vanners are no longer 
in use, the ore going through the stamp and Huntington mills, and from the 
latter the pulp goes direct to the cyanide plant of the Charles Butters Co., but 
a few hundred feet from the mill. This plant, which employs the Butters electro- 
lytic process, has a daily capacity of treating 400 tons of pulp, extracting the 
values to an infinitessimal per cent. It was erected about five years ago by the 
Butters Company, under contract with the Grand Central Company to treat an 

Immense Mass of Tailings^ 

That had accumulated at the rate of a couple of hundred tons daily through a 
period of four years' operation of the great mill. When the tailings pile was 
exhausted the Butters Company suggested to the Grand Central Company that 
the pulp could be as successfully treated, and more economically, by cutting out 
the amalgamating pans and vanners, running it directly to the cyanide plant. The 
suggestion was well received, resulting two years ago in a lease of the plant to 
the Butters Company, which has successfully operated it upon the plan proposed. 
The camp is supplied with water from the Matape River, twenty miles distant, 
whence it is conveyed by a pipe line. Near the town of San Jose de Pimas, a 
heavy pumping engine forces the water into a large cement reservoir, upon an 
elevation overlooking both Minas Prietas and La Colorada, midway between, 

32 



Wc arc the 



Largest Manaf acturcrs of 

Mining Macliinery 

in the Southwest and Mexico. 




BURROS TRANSPORTING SECTIONAL MACHINERY. 

Sectionalized Machinery is Our Specialty 

And In This Line We Stand Alone. 

Wc have in successful operation Sectional Stamp Mills, Crushing: Machinery, 
Water Tube Boilers, Corliss Type Engines, Hoisting; Engines, Air Com- 
pressors, Reverberatory Smelting Furnaces, using Wood for Fuel. 

Arizona ^ Sonora Mfg. Co. 

Nogale», Arizona. 



ROY t* TITCOMB, Inc., Sales Agents, 

Nogales, Ariz., Douglas, Ariz., Hermosillo, &onora, Mex., Cuaymas, Sonora, Mex , 
Mazatian, dinaloa, Hex. 



33 



whence it is distributed to all parts of the camp by gravity. A smaller plant 
at Chivato, five miles away, was long the sole source of supply, which was 
however very inadequate. It is still in use, supplying a part of the camp. 

It goes without saying that to keep up so great a plant there are extensive' 
machine shops, a foundry, etc. The 

Country Rock 

Of the region is a hornblendic diorite, capped by a quartzite, except where be- 
tween the higher hills erosion has cut away the cap. Upon one side or the 
other of the quartzite are dykes of quartz porphyry ; the mineralized veins, both 
as contacts between the dykes and the diorite, also as independent veins traversing 
the diorite itself. The veins vary greatly in width, narrowing in places to two 
feet, and at others swelling to one hundred feet or more. The largest 
and most productive ore bodies are often found at the junctions of the 
main veins with tributaries. The gangue consists of quartz and altered 
dyke matter, and even of the diorite mineralized. The ore occurs in de- 
tached bodies of irregular shape and varying greatly in size, occurring in such 
relation to each other as to form chutes easily worked and readily handled. The 
ores are principally quartz carrying varying amounts of pyrite, chalcopyrite and 
galena. The proportion of gold and silver in the ores varies considerably, but 
the combined product of all the ores as worked is a mixed bullion, of which 
about 65 per cent of the value is gold and 35 per cent silver. 

Many more properties in the Minas Prietas region are susceptible of hand- 
some development, and with the application of intelligent and well directed effort^ 
backed by ample capital, would readily rank as producers. The properties of the 
Campania Union Mineria are described in that category, and negotiations are 
said to be in hand for their transfer to a strong American syndicate with means 
necessary for extensive development. The Basfilla is a fine property upon the 
same ledge as the Prietas mine, adjoining the For tuna upon the south, upon 
which extensive development shows a large and valuable ore body. 

Northeast from Minas Prietas about twelve miles lies the Zubiate camp, where 
there are rich silver mines with a record of production going back into the early 
Spanish days. Four or five years ago the property passed under the ownership 
of a California company, which opened new, large and rich ore bodies and 
erected a 15-stamp mill for their treatment. Shortly after it commenced opera- 
tion the mill was destroyed by fire. Undaunted, the company replaced the mill 
with one of forty stamps, and that commenced turning its wheels a year ago. 
Within a short time the fact was discovered that the process employed failed 
to save a large percentage of the values in the ores, so the stamps were removed, 
and grinding mills, dryers and roasters were installed, the pulp going from the 
latter to the amalgamating pans. The new machinery was completed and opera- 
tion was resumed in September of the present year (1904), the altered process 
much more successfully accomplishing the results sought of attainment. 

About twent3^-five miles west from Minas Prietas^ and westward from the 
line of the Sonora Railway, are the Tarasca mines, where another antiguo camp 
has sprung to new life under modern methods. The ancient workings were ex- 
tensive, developed to considerable depths several very rich ledges, and are fol- 
lowed long distances. Some miles away, at Aguaje (Spring of Water), sur- 
rounding the ruins of an old church, the vestiges of old arrastras and thousands 
of tons of tailings, covering hundreds of acres of ground, show that the ores from 
the Tarasca were there reduced and parted from their values. The present own- 
ers are a California company. Shafts have been sunk and drifts run below the 
old workings, opening large bodies of high grade shipping ores. 

34 



In the region between Minas Prietas and Hermosillo are the Dewey mine, 
Mina Grande, and a number of other good properties. North from the Zttbiate 
are the'Tortuga, Constitution & Italia, Last Chance, Santa Rosa and Las Cruces. 
The Last Chance is a mountain of low grade gold ore, undeveloped, yet the 
making of a great mine. 

Northwest from Hermosillo about forty miles are the Verde Grande and 
El Mojin properties. The Verde Grande has erected a lOO-ton smelter, but it 
is not yet blown in. 

Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, is a beautiful, well built city, with a popu- 
lation of about 12,000, uniting the charm of the old Spanish civilization with the 
comforts and conveniences of the present day. The streets are macadamized, 
Vvdth cement-paved sidewalks,- and lighted by electricity, as are also all the princi- 
pal buildings, residences, etc. A telephone line connects all parts of the city, a 
good street car line is a great public convenience, and the hack service is one 
of the best and cheapest anywhere in the world. The climate is most delight- 
ful through eight months in the year — from October to July — and it is attracting 
great attention as a very enjoyable winter resort. As it is only twelve hours' 
travel from the main line of the Southern Pacific at Benson, many tourists en 
route to California take advantage of the opportunity to make the side trip and 
get a glimpse of Old Mexico that presents little change from former days. 

Visitors at Hermosillo find in the Hotel Arcadia a large, elegant hostelry, 
complete in its appointments in the American style, that compares favorably 
with the best hotels in the United States. It occupies an entire block, 130x250 



PATIO, HOTEIv ARCADIA. 



feet in dimensions, the structure forming a square around a beautiful patio 75x36 
feet, filled with rare tropical plants, trees and flowers. The rooms are elegantly 
furnished, the table well supplied, and everything complete in every particular. 
From Minas Prietas eastward roads radiate to all points 

Along the Yaqui River, 

About one hundred miles distant, beyond which, in the Sahuaripa and Alamos 
districts, lies one of the greatest and richest mineral regions upon the face of 
the earth, which in antiguo days was one of the most populous and richly pro- 

35 



ductive in New Spain. West of the river, in the Hermosillo and Ures districts, 
are also rich and extensive mining regions, with historic records, and yet far 
more capable of swelling the world's volume of precious metals than ever before 
in their history. In the category are included the camps at San Javier, La Bar- 
ranca, Los Bronces, San Antonio de la Hiierta, Las Goteras, Cerro Colorado, 
San Juan Grande, Soyopa, etc. 

At San Javier the Gold Coin Mining Company have in successful operation 
a 30-ton copper smelter, and are producing a high grade matte, rich in gold and 
silver. This company owns and operates the Santa Rosa, a famous antigua mine. 
At the same place the Wyman Mining Company, operating the Animas mine, has 
erected a 50-ton concentrating plant, and ships concentrates of very high grade. 
The Verde Grande is a great copper property near San Javier, 

At Toledo, on the west bank of the Yaqui River, but a few miles from the 




COKE MINE, LA BARRANCA. 



various camps mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs, which are clustered 
within a radius of twenty miles, the Yaqui Smelting & Refining Company, a To- 
ledo, Ohio, corporation, has established a large customs smelter, now in successful 
operation. A lead stack with a daily capacity of 100 tons has been running several 
weeks, and a copper stack will be installed shortly. The company buys ores 
from numerous camps on both sides of the river, and its operations are calculated 
to materially aid in development of a mineral region of great richness. 

One of the great advantages of the rich region of which Toledo is the center 
is the contiguity of an inexhaustible supply of anthracite coal and natural coke 
at La Barranca, but six miles away from the Toledo plant. Development has 
been conducted upon an extensive scale through several years by the Sunset 
Development Company (Southern Pacific), and there is no discount upon the 

36 



productive capacity of the coal measures. Another great coal field is known to 
exist about forty miles distant, beyond the Yaqui, in the 

Sahuaripa District, 

Which was mention-ed cursorily in a preceding paragraph as having been one 
of the great seats of metal production in early Spanish days. The district in- 
cludes the famous Trinidad, La Bufa, Mulatos, Cieneguita, Tayapa, Ostimuris, 
Tejada, Tonichi, Santo Nino, and many other noted mining regions, that bear 
every evidence of having in early days supported large populations, and the 
records show that through near two centuries they poured forth a constant stream 
of precious metals. 

The Tonichi copper properties, owned by the Tri-Metallic Mining Company, 
are situated about ten miles east from the Yaqui River, beyond Toledo, and they 
include a great ledge of rich copper ores carrying gold and silver, which is being 
developed by tunnels. The ledge is sixty feet in width in places, and it follows 
the crest of a lofty ridge. A tunnel is running from a canon below to cut the 
ledge I, GOG feet below the croppings. It is pronounced by experts as having the 
making of a great property. 

Southeast from Tonichi a long day's ride lies the great Trinidad and La 
Bufa region, which is attracting great attention. Within a radius of a score of 
miles there are 125 known antigua mines that have all been in the past great pro- 
ducers, and with capital and intelligently directed effort can be again put into 
the list of producers. The operations of the Bufa Mining & Reduction Com- 
pany show what can be done. Five or six years ago a few practical mine work- 
men in the employ of the companies at Minas Prietas and at La Dura took up this 
great property. They had little capital, but great faith in the indications and 
the former record of production. They sunk a shaft to penetrate below the old 
workings, reaching at a depth of 3G0 feet the rich ore bodies tradition said were 
there ; and continuing to the depth of 6go feet they opened a body of high grade 
ores (grey copper, etc.), which stood the excessive cost of transportation upon 
the backs of mules to the railway at Torres, 15G miles distant, thence by rail to 
El Paso, where they sold to the smelter at net prices ranging from $2go to $6oG 
per ton. The second grade ores were concentrated in a small concentrating mill 
which was assembled from odds and ends bought from abandoned plants, and 
the concentrates shipped. Other shafts were sunk and connected by several 
thousand feet of drifts, on the various levels, opening great bodies of high grade 
ores. Last year a concentrating mill and matting furnace with a capacity of 
fifty tons daily was erected, and the ores are treated on the ground, producmg 
a high grade matte, which is shipped. Ores are blocked out ready for stoping, 
sufficient to supply the plant for years to come. Vigorous prosecution of develop- 
ment continues to demonstrate that the limits of the ore body are not yet reached, 
and the company has entered upon a long career of prosperity. 

About fifteen miles distant are the great Trinidad mines, that have been 
among the most famous silver mines in Mexico. Within two years those who 
successfully reopened La Bufa have bought the Trinidad, and have diligently 
prosecuted operations with most gratifying results. La Trinidad will shortly be 
again among the great producing mines of Mexico; and besides La Bufa and 
La Trinidad "there are others." 

A day's ride northeast from Trinidad are the famous Mulatos gold mines, 
owned and operated by a Pennsylvania corporation. 

Directly north from Trinidad two days' travel are the properties of the 

37 



Cieneguita Copper Company, which have been declared by competent experts as 
among the 

Greatest Mines On Earth, 

The company's holdings include three great groups — the Chipiona-Cieneguita, 
the Ostimuris, and the Tayopa. The first named includes seven great ledges, 
comprised in an area owned by the company, two and one-half miles long and 
one mile wide. Upon all these ledges extensive antigno workings are found 
running the entire distance and frequently connected underground hundreds of 
feet. In the old workings the antiguos left exposed thousands of tons of re- 
bellious ores, and the new workings of the present company have developed 
immense bodies of high grade copper sulphides carrying gold and silver. One 
of the bodies developed is twenty-three feet wide, and another thirty-nine feet. 
Competent experts estimate that in those two ledges are 2,600,000 tons of ore that 
will yield 5 per cent copper, sixty ounces per ton silver, and $3 to $8 per ton 
gold. Other ledges carry galena, with paying values in gold and silver. Be- 
side the showings in the old .Spanish workings, the Cieneguita Company have 
opened up the ore bodies with thirteen tunnels varying from 300 to 1,000 feet 
in length. Want of space forbids an extended description of all these great 
properties. 

A 200-ton reverberatory furnace to reduce ores is in course of construction, 
and within six months it will be in operation. When completed the plant will be 
immediately duplicated, and successive duplications will increase the capacity to 
1,000 tons daily as rapidly as possible. Roy & Titcomb (Arizona-Sonora Man- 
ufacturing Co.) are the contractors. 

In the vicinity of Cieneguita are also many other antiguos worth the attention 
of practical mining men and the expenditure of money. 

Adjoining the Sahuaripa district on the south is the 

Alamos District, 

One of the most noted in the annals of New Spain for its remarkable produc- 
tion of gold and silver. At the City of Alamos were made up the great con- 
ductas, consisting of hundreds of sumpter mules, each laden with a small fortune 
(200 pounds of gold and silver bars and ingots), which under heavy guard 
monthly traversed the Sierra Madre, to the City of Mexico, whence the treasure 
was sent to Spain; and in the fastnesses of the high Sierras, along the route they 
followed, the traveler may yet see places where the trail, in winding its way over 
the rocky, lofty escarpments and climbing the precipitous sides of deep canons, 
has been worn, by the frequent wear of passing hoofs, deep into the solid rock 
— ^the veritable banks of one of the streams of wealth, now long since run dry, 
that flowed across a continent and an ocean, to the enrichment of imperial Spain. 

In the immediate vicinity of Alamos is the famous Quintera mine, from which 
an immense fortime was realized by the Almada family. After more than a 
century the property is continuing in operation, and yielding richly. It is now 
worked to a depth of 1,500 feet, and is owned by a French syndicate. 

It is related that the original owner of the Quintera, Juan Almada, to signal- 
ize the wedding of his daughter as one of dazzling distinction, lined the bridal 
chamber walls with bars of bullion from the mine, and laid a pavement of silver 
bars from the door of the family residence, which was across the plaza from 
the church shown in the engraving, across the plaza to the church door, which 
pavement was covered with costly tapestry; and over that remarkable pavement 
the bridal party made their progress to the altar ; while the bridal bower was a 
veritable casket of silver. 

38 



RE.D HOUSE,. 

Ramon Vasquez, Prop. 

NOGALES, ARIZONA. 

Ladies^ Dress Goods, Silks, Satins, 
Laces, Etc. 

Gents^ Clothing, Hats, Caps, Boots and 
Shoes, Furnishing Goods, Etc. 



The Monte Carlo. 

The Leading Sporting House in the City. 
First=Class Short Order Restaurant in Connection. 

Private Club Rooms Attached. 

F. M. MAIN, Prop. 

N0GALE8, ARIZONA. 



Geo. B. Marshp 

Novates, Arizona. 

Hard'ivare, Stoves, Tin- 
ware, Etc. 

MINE SUPPLIES. 



The Senate 

BEER HALL. 

jiNHEUSER-'BUSCH 

5c. a Glass, 

LOUIS LULLELY, Prop, 



GEORGE K. FRENCH, 
Attorney and Counselor at Law. 

(Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1892.) 

NOQALES, ARIZONA. 

SPECIALTY:— Mining Business in Sonora, Mexico, and Arizona. 

A. SABATIER 

Ladies' Dress Goods, Ribbons, Silks, 
Laces, Underwear, Etc. 



Frank IrVine, 

NogateSs Sonora. 
JUST ACROSS THE LINE. 

Finest of Wines, Liquors — Both 
Native and Imported. 

Choice Mexican Cigars a Specialty. 



The Nogalitos 
GUEIRNSEY DAIRY. 



MILLINERY AND TOILET ARTICLES. 

Morlcy Ave., cor. International St., 
NOGALES, ARIZ. 



Pure MilK and Cream Delivered 
T-wice a Day. 



THOS. BAYZE, Prop. 



The El Paso Store, 

Dry Goods, 
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Men's Furnishings. 



Wholesale and Retail. 



NOGALES, ARIZONA. 



39 



An extensive iron deposit is reported at a point forty-five miles to the north- 
east of Alamos, which is estimated by Professor Dumble, the eminent geologist, 
to contain 16,000,000 tons of ore by actual measurement. In its origin and 
general character the ore in sight in this deposit is a duplication of the famous 
iron mountain in Durango, only somewhat smaller. It is a great mass of iron, 




which has come up with the porphyritic and rhyolitic rocks, in which are found 
the principal mineral deposits of this region. Normally the deposit increases in 
value as depth is attained. It is but fifty miles from the anthracite field at 
Pilares, which is particularly adapted for smelting this ore, and the vicinity af- 
fords an abundance of flux. 

40 



The following constitutes a responsible analysis of the iron ore located 
as above : 

Silica 1.27 Phosphorus 0.293 

Manganese 0.31 Ferrous Oxide (metallic) 13.15 

Sulphur trace Ferric Oxide (iron) 67.36 

Alumina . 0.27 

Even now an enumeration of the mining properties in operation in the Alamos 
district would overtax the space of a much larger book. At Baucari are rich gold 
quartz mines, and also at Trigo. At El Cerrito are rich placer mines, while 
at Baroyeca and Piedras Verdes are great copper properties, and at La Dura 
steadily producing silver mines which have been in operation a quarter of a 
century and reached a depth of 1,200 feet. The last named place is in the ex- 
treme northwest corner of the district, about 120 miles from the Sonora Railway 
at Ortiz. The district offers many great opportunities. In the 

Guaymas District, 

Through the northern edge of which passes the road from Ortis to La Dura, 
a few miles south of La Barranca and San Javier, there is considerable mining, 
and the mountains of the district in all parts are known to be rich in mineral; 
but the long continued Yaqui Indian trouble, which has had its seat in that dis- 
trict, has checked and retarded development. 

Near Siiaqtd Grande, on the Tecoripa River, a day's journey westward from 
La Dura, the Chicago & Sonora Gold Placer Mining Company has in operation a 
gold dredge, which is reported very successful. It is stated that the company 
contemplate constructing other dredges. This placer field extends along the 
Tecoripa River from Suaqui Grande to its union with the Yaqui at Cumaripa, 
a distance of about thirty miles; and there is also a good placer field along the 
Yaqui. 

At Batamote, west from Siiaqui Grande, the Ruby Gold & Copper Company 
operates valuable copper mines, reducing the ores in a reverberatory furnace. 

At San Marcial, between Batamote and Ortiz, are extensive coal measures, 
upon which there has been considerable work. The field extends northward into 
the Hermosillo district, and at La Lapiz the United States Graphite Co., of Sag- 
inaw, Michigan, has opened extensive beds of graphite, from which they have 
shipped regularly, through several years, large quantities to the United States. 

In the Bacatete Mountains, southwest from Ortiz, is the Bonancita region, 
noted for its gold quartz ledges and rich placer grounds. 

Returning to Hermosillo, and passing thence up the Sonora River, the Ures 
district is again entered. At the distance of a day's ride northeast from the 
city, and about the same distance southeast from Copete, described in preceding 
pages, is the Gabilan region, of antiguo fame. There the Ures Consolidated and 
Vega Mining Companies are operating valuable properties. The L^res ConsoH- 
dated has a lo-stamp mill. 

A few miles further up the river, the Coches Mining Company has developed 
a valuable gold property and erected a mill to treat the ores by cyanide process. 

The City of Ures, 

The seat of government of the same district, is about fifty miles from Hermosillo, 
and is a town of about 2,000 people. Over on the southeast toward the Matape 
River are the Chipiona and Colorada-Urcs mining regions, a few miles north- 
west of the town of Matape. There lead and silver predominate. Directly south 
ten or a dozen "miles are the Marquesa and Quincy properties. Thf '^-^mer is 
owned in Hermosillo. 

In the southern edge of the district, directly south from Ures, is the Llano 

41 



Colorado region, famous for its placer diggings more than a century ago. An 
American company is now successfully working the ground by hydraulic process. 
A few miles to the westward are the Rcalito mines, where extensive antigua 
workings and the ruins of more than loo arrastras tell of great production. From 
the Los Angeles mine, in the same vicinity, rich silver ores are now being shipped. 

A day's ride east of Matape, the latter place a long day's ride from Minas 
PrietaSj the traveler reaches Siiaqui de Batuc, at the confluence of the Moctezuma 
and Yaqiii Rivers. The former comes from near the Arizona line, nearly 200 
miles northward, and the Yaqui comes out of Chihuahua to the east, turning at 
the junction with the Moctezuma and flowing south. Along both rivers are 
rich mineral regions. Southeast of Suaqui de Batuc are the famous Santo Nino 
mines, owned by the Yaqui Copper Company. A large sum of money (more 
than a million) was raised for their exploitation, but a quarrel in the company 
has stopped all operations, after expenditure of a great deal of money. The 
mines are all right, but they need development, machinery and management. 

In the vicinity of Suaqui de Batuc are Todos Santos, El Cajon, Zaragoza, 
EstreUa, and other good properties, several in course of development. 

Overshadowing Batuc, which interesting town is a couple of leagues up the 
river from Suaqui de Batuc, is the famous Lista Blanca Mountain, wherein a 
lacework of rich silver veins ramify to great depths, which have been worked 
almost continuously for two centuries. There are also copper and quicksilver 
deposits in the same mountain. 

Eastward from Suaqui de Batuc a day's travel — about fifteen leagues — is the 
great 

Lampazos Silver Region, 

In the Moctezuma district, another property with a record of production going 
back into the eighteenth century. The ledges are wide, strong and well defined, 
and by adits have been explored to depths of 1,000 feet or more below the crop- 
pings. There are workings in two of the great ledges, which cut into the sum- 
mit of a lofty ridge, from which they can be seen extending down the west side 
several miles. Parallel thereto are several other great ledges, that bear every 
external evidence of being similar. Capital and labor judiciously expended would 
probably demonstrate that they are equally rich. The group in operation is owned 
by Lie M. A. Lopez, of Hermosillo. But few miles away from Lampazos, upon 
all sides, are groups of antigua mines and old ruins of camps long since abandoned, 
which show that there must have been a great and wonderful activity. 

To follow up the Moctezuma district northward to the International Boundary, 
at Douglas, a distance of nearly 200 miles, and enumerate all the antigua camps 
to spring into renewed life, awaiting only the touch of the modern wizard, labor, 
intelligently and scientifically directed, would completely fill this pamphlet, to 
exclusion of all other districts. The 

Moctezuma District 

Was one of the noted ones of the richly productive mineral regions of the early 
Spanish days, and it included some world famous mines. Today, at Nacozari, is a 
great copper property, connected with the American system of railways at Doug- 
las, eighty miles distant, by an independent railroad, one of the regularly pro- 
ducitig mines of Sonora. They are under the same ownership as the Copper 
Queen at Bisbee, the Indiana-Sonora group at Cananea, the Globe and the Morenci 
north from the Gila River in Arizona. A narrow gauge railway connects the 
reduction works at the town of Nacozari with the mines, some seven miles 
away. The plant, which is a combination of concentration and smelting, with a 
dailv capacity of 200 tons, was in operation a period of years. Since com- 

42 



pletion of the greaL reduction plant at Douglas the smelter has shut down and 
the concentrates are all transported by rail to the new Smeher City at the line. 

InTLacal region, eastward from Nacozari, are many famous ant^g^.a 
mines, notably the Huacal, Dona Maria, Chunmihahi, and many more, beveral 
strong American companies are in active operation. 

The Dona Maria is a property about which clusters both romance and mystery 
In Ward's History of Mines in Mexico, published m London m i824,_ it is 
related that those mines were owned and operated by Dona Maria Rodriguez 
a wealthy widow. Having accumulated an abundance of riches, she abandoned 
hervaluable properties and started for her childhood home m Spam there to 
en ov her decl ning years. She loaded a train of forty mules with gold bars and 
mgo s (8,000 pouSds-four tons of gold), and proceededto the Uty of Mexico 
where th; woman and her wealth disappeared. Ward intimates that she was 
murdered and her wealth appropriated by those m authority 

Northeast from /vaco. an about sixty miles, and beyond the Bavispe River, is 
the Pilaris de Teras region, where are the Cinco de Mayo and Roy mmes- 
valuable producers. Not far away is the famous El n^re mine, a recent dis- 
covery verv rich in sold and silver. A mill of 100 tons capacity is m course of 
construction (Rov & Titcomb, of Nogales, contractors). Two or three miles 
awav and nearer' A7ar... de Teras, ^re the San Juan mines, which with present 
development are predicted as destined to rival those at El Tigre. 

The Moctezuma district is the extreme northeastern section of the state of 
Sonora. To the west, lying between that and the Magdalena district, described 
hereinbefore, lies the 

Arizpe District, 

In which are the great copper mines at Cananea, which have already received 
description in these pages. The district is drained by the Sonora River, which 
rises near the International Boundary, flows south about 150 miles, then turns 
in a southwesterly direction, passing Ures and Hermosillo, toward the Gulf of 

California. . , j- ^ • 4. ^-u^ 

The municipality of Arizpe, the seat of government of the district, on the 
Sonora River, about seventy-five miles south of the American line, was a place 
of sreat importance in the early Spanish occupation. It is now a town of about 
I 000 people. Vestiges of long gone dwellings, churches and other structures 
show it was a city of real importance, and its population is said to have reached 
^cooo It was the seat of extensive smelting and refining operations, as shown 
by the ruins of manv furnaces and the surrounding slag dumps. It was the 
seat of government of the Intendencia de Arizpe, exercising jurisdiction over 
a o-reat region, the King's Intendente being semi-independent of the Viceroy at 
Mexico, and exercising an almost despotic sway. The site of his palace is a 
vacant spot beside the church. The latter, a very large one, which dates back 
to 1710, as shown by the inscription over the door, is noted for the arge number 
of fine paintings upon its altars. It was also noted for its gold and silver plate, 
which all disappeared between two days about thirty years ago. Its value was 
estimated at a quarter of a milhon dollars. r ^v. 

Westward from Arizpe about fifteen miles and sixty miles east from the 
Sonora Railway at Imuris station, are the Santa Rosalia gold mines that _ were 
operated extensively by the early Spaniards, and are reputed to have yielded 
richly a reputation recent developments fully justified. Some eight years ago a 
California company secured the property and commenced development. Tradi- 
tion went that when the mine was abandoned by the Spaniards, at the time of 
the Apache uprising in 1822, a tunnel leading to the richest ores was closed and 
concealed. After search the tunnel entrance was found underneath the talus 

43 



p. Sandoval. A. Sandoval. 



P. SANDOVAL Y C^ 



BANKERS AND BROKERS, 



^ — -^ 

Agents Banco Nacional de Mexico and 
Banco Occidental de Mexico. 

Own and Control Extensive Lands and Mines in Sonora. 
Fiscal Agent for the Big Mountain MiningXompany. 

OWNER OF FAMOUS PLANCHAS DE 
PLATA MINES. 

Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. 

Cable Address, LAVODNAS. 



44 



at the foot of a bluff. The heavy mesqtiite door was swung" open and the tunnel 
?ol owed. At a distance of several hundred feet, according to tradition, another 
door was passed, and behind it the old workings were entered. There was found 
a great vehi, twelve feet wide, of free-milling gold ore that f f -^^^/^^f ^^/^°;;^ 
twentv dollars per ton, and a rich streak two feet m width from which the first 
clrload shipped netted in San Francisco $24,000, the second $18,000, and the 
third $22 000. A mill was erected and continued in operation several years. The 
propertv vas afterward sold to George Mitchell, the mining magnate, of Canan.a 
fame; but, owing to the multiplicity of his operations Mr. Mitchell has let it 

^'^ North from Anspe and west from Bacoache is the Ficacho mine, owned by 
the Douglas Brothers, of Bisbee and Nacozari. The property, which is very ruih 
in gold, was discovered by a peon about six years ago. Tt has already yielded a 
o-reat deal of money, and is yet producing. 




CHIPIONA MOUNTAIN. 

ClENEGUITA COPPER COMPANY. 



In the Picacho region, and to the eastward, near Bacoache on the Sonora 
River, is a very rich and promising region. In the vicinity of Bacoache are ex- 
tensive placer grounds, and in the Ajo Mountains, northeast from Bacoache, 
have been recently made extensive developments. 

Southeast from Arizpe about twenty-five miles are the famous Chspa and 
Carmen mines, with long and fruitful records of production. 

Half a day's ride down the river from Ari::;pe, near the town of Banamichi, is 
the Santa Elena mine, a gold property with a record of production of several 
million dollars. Forty years ago it was owned by General Ygnacio Pesqueira, 
the famous Liberal leader, a soldier and statesman who was the right hand man 
of General Diaz in the West during the troublous times during and following 
French intervention. From the S.anta Elena he derived much of the sinews of 
bloody war waged by him against reactionary forces and the bloodthirsty Apaches. 

45 



With return of peace General Pesqueira sold the property to an American com- 
pany, which erected a large mill and operated upon an extensive scale. Ten 
years ago it passed into the hands of an English company, which added greatly to 
the plant, and shipped bullion. But mismanagement caused its shutdown four 
years ago. Tt has since been idle, and has filled with water. 

In character of ores, formation, etc., the Santa Eloia is the counterpart of the 
great Minas Prictas mines. It is now 550 feet in depth. To take over the prop- 
erty, which can be acquired on reasonable terms, pump it out, and sink, as has 
been done at Minas Prictas, would be an undertaking for heavy capital, which 
would yield rich returns and create another great camp. 

Below Banamichi about twenty miles is Hncpac, where a Milwaukee com- 
pany has considerable property and a small reduction plant, which is doing well. 

As has been asserted of the other districts, these pages present only the salient 
points of the Arizpe district, with the assurance that it includes numerous oppor- 
tunities, both in antiguo mines and in ledges that have never yet been opened. 

As yet these pages have paid no attention to the far famed 

Altar District 

Of Sonora, the largest in area, occupying the northwest, extending nearly 300 
miles along the American line and a couple of hundred along the Gulf coast. This 




STATE CAPITOI,, HERMOSII,I,0. 



district was noted for the richness of its great placer deposits even before the 
days of Spanish occupation, and it has numerous gold ledges, in which some of 
the richest antigua mines were developed, some of which are now in successful 
operation. The Altar is the most arid region in Sonora, and operations are 
greatly hampered and restricted through scarcity of water ; yet that obstacle is 
frequently overcome and mines are profitably worked. In the early extraction of 
placer gold millions of dollars were taken out with the batea (gold pan) with- 
out the aid of water, the natives having become very expert in the successful 
use of that implement dry. Invention of various kinds of "dry washers" has- 
greatly facilitated extraction of placer gold. The machine is a combination of 
air blast and agitation, the auriferous earth traveling down an inclined table with 
riffles, the table kept in constant agitation, the air blast carrying away the earth, 
and the riffles catching the gold. Of course, where water can be secured.it is 
employed. In the early rush of gold seekers to California, in 1849-50, many went 

46 



adopted* '^'"" "'^'°"' """^ """ """'°''' "'" ''"'' ''^'™"'' ''' """^ '""■'= '1""='''>' 
At La Cionega, about se>cnty-five miles southwest from Santa Ana station 

e°xtenf' Zer\lt T^ ^"''"Y' " "" ""'"'^'"^ P'^«^ fi*^", many miles in 
and dHft? ,, r"v ." ''?'■" *" «^™""'' '^ honeycombed with tunnels, shafts 

face t e ;o7d r't I , , "°t T' "''''•'^' "'^ ^''"'"""^ ^^^ lifted to the sur- 
face, the gold extracted dry by batcas wherever water was unattainable and with 
water where tt could be had. Development of water by sinking wells and pumpi ^ 
.t to the surface for hydraulic washing has been proposed-there being pleZol 
water below. The field is covered by a concession to P. Sandoval* Co' o 
^ogales. Northward from Cienega, near Caborca, is another rich placer field 'the 
Palo,„as. In the v.cm.ty of El T,ro, El Cajon. Cerro Colorado, and manv other 
ocaht,es, are placer fields which have been worked over and o^r again ' Wes 

prred^m^hLT;:'" ™"^"^' '^ ^""'^^^""^ °P"^''"=- - '-y P-- "* ™- 
_ In quartz mining the region has been also famous. The great El Tiro lerlo-^ 
IS traced a distance of twenty miles in a north and south direction At El Ti?o 
on the north end the i?...a de Oro Mining Company has sunk several shaf s to 
depths of 400 to 600 feet, connected by levels every 100 feet, and all in good free 




CATHEDRAI,, HERMOSII,I,0. 

m^ton nrnll Ai hi Lajon de Amanllas, on the south end, twenty miles awav the 
Yerkes Gold Mmmg Company has large bodies of free milling gdd ore read; 
for stopmg, and a new complete 20-stamp quartz mill ready for its reduction £/ 
T^ro IS about fifty miles southwest of Santa Ana station, and El CatnT'^y^ol 
forty miles west from Llano station ^ ^°"^ 

a moulTain ofo^r Th' ^' ^^'^^^^ ^^l ^-- Colorado, which is almost literally 
a mountain of ore. This property has been worked for years, the workine-s fol 
lowing rich streaks and stringers of gold rock, which was educed na^smah 
3-stamp mill near La Cienega, leaving exposed more than a million tons of Tow 
grade gold ore which will mill $5 per ton. Several years ago it was thorouilv 
sampled by an Idaho miner named Hanley, who estimated that therr^reTs 000 
000 in sight m the mine, and he was. arranging to buy and work the property but 
before he had completed arrangements, Mr. Hanley died suddenh .T / 
Colorado and the deal fell through. ^ suddenly at Cerro 

47 



\ 



Altar, the seat of government of the district, is about sixty miles west from 
Santa Ana. West from the town nine miles is La Cuchilla, where the Rey del 
Oro Mining Co. has a good gold property, and three Huntington mills in operation. 

West from Magdalena station on the Sonora Railway is Tuhutarna, where 
the Sonora Milling & Mining Company developed a copper property and set 
up a smelter last year. The company has since bought the Juarez gold mine, 
northwest from Caborca about thirty miles. This newly acquired property is 
an antigua which has been worked more than a century as placer ground by 
Papago Indians, who occasionally found some very large gold nuggets. In 
1902 Serano & Co., of Altar, bought a nugget of pure gold weighing 38.8 ounces. 
The ledge upon the property was developed and worked in 188 1 by a San Fran- 
cisco company which erected a 20- stamp mill with the old pan amalgamation 
process, which was not adapted to the work, as shown by the rich values run 
off in the tailings — a fine, flour gold, very susceptible to the cyanide process, 
however, which will be adopted and installed by the new owners, making the 
Juarez a substantial and remunerative property. Plans and specifications for 
such a plant have been completed, and construction will soon begin. 

At La Calera, west from Caborca about nine miles, the Arizona-Mexican 
Copper Company, of Phoenix, Arizona, is developing El Gran Proveedora de 
Cohre, a very valuable copper property, upon which extensive development 
shows rich ore bodies. It is equipped with a hoisting engine, and the depth 
attained is now about 400 feet. 

Over upon the Gulf coast, near San Jorge Bay and at Quitovac the Sierra 
Pinta Mining Company have in operation two very valuable gold properties, 
which are connected with their reduction works at San Jorge Bay by a narrow 
gauge railway about thirteen miles long. 

Near El Plomo and San Francisco, in the extreme north, near the Arizona 
line, there are in operation valuable gold properties, and extensive copper mines 
are in course of development. The Somhretillo is another very valuable prop- 
erty near the Arizona line. 

In closing these pages the statement is reiterated, that to fully describe the 
great region ("the Land of Nayarit") would require volumes rather than a few 
pages. The assertion that the region is one of the richest in natural resources 
of any on the American continent is within the bounds of truth. It offers a 
very inviting field for investment. To call attention to the rich field open to the 
world, and to aid in development of the great resources outlined, is the mission 
of the Arizona and Sonora Chamber of Mines, an association of the business men 
of Nogales and prominent mining men operating in Arizona and Sonora. It has 
devoted its attention to collation and dissemination of accurate and reliable in- 
formation of the region, which is ever at the disposition of the investing 
public. All communications addressed to the Chamber at Nogales, Arizona, 
will receive prompt and careful attention. Visitors to the Line City are cor- 
dially invited to call at the rooms of the Association, where all the mining 
journals and magazines are on file, and other literature pertaining to the mining 
industry. Copies of this work will be forwarded upon application. 



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